Photo of the Day

Soldier son is the subject of my photos this weekend.  I can't stop looking at him, touching his arm, hugging him.  I don't even want to think of him leaving again.  It's just funny that having him here is kind of like he's never left.  Lights left on, clothes on the floor, wet towel on the bathroom floor.  He is always hungry, so I took him grocery shopping.  Feels good to just be his Mom . . .

His little dog sticks to him like glue too.  

Poor guy, he was excited for Dad's birthday dinner . . . Steak, baked potatoes & deviled eggs (his favorites), he fell asleep just before it was finished and I couldn't wake him up.  I guess those 4 different time zones finally caught up to him tonight . . .

Photo of Yesterday . . .

I didn't post my photo of the day yesterday.  The day just wasn't what I expected.   I took plenty of photos, it was my sweetie's birthday, we both had the day off coincidentally and the plan was to have a nice late lunch at Houlihans and go to the movies. 

't

 

We did and it was fun.   About as much fun as you can have on freakish cold day in January on a Friday afternoon.   I should say this before I tell you how the day ended though, it's been one of those weeks, the phone calls from soldier son have been short and few lately.  He tells me he's super busy on missions, very tired and just didn't sound right to me.  Plus he unfriended me on Facebook.  Wow did not see that coming.  Anyway, I've had the "winter I miss my boy blues all week long". Which brings me to this photo, which I didn't take, the boys, all 3 of them have been planning this surprise for weeks.  

He wasn't supposed to get his R&R until March and 8 last night the boys rang the door bell and there he was in his ACU's that he put on Tuesday in Iraq.   I can't believe they pulled this off without me finding out!  {PS he unfriended me so he could tell everyone else that he was coming home!}

Photo of the Day!

Today's photo. . . it snowed again . . .really. . . I'm over it.  I like a little white stuff as much as the next person but we just didn't need another 6 inches around here, oh and the 2 degree lows we're having tonight are completely unnecessary.

Just in case you are as bored as I am of this particular view, here's a Boston Cream Pie I made today for my honey's birthday tomorrow!  It's not the prettiest cake I've ever made but still looks good.

In the words of Rachael Ray "YUMMO".

Photo of the Day!

It's only 1 day since I watched this story on the local news:

Chihuahua Survives Owl Attack

Wow in the suburbs of Chicago, a man was walking his little dog & the predator owl came out of nowhere to try to scoop up the little guy. Thought to self, "sure am glad there's no owls around here", my little 10 lb Wauzer wouldn't stand a chance!

Whaaat-I'm washing my breakfast dishes looking out my window @ all the brown.  Brown trees, brown grass (soon to be white) brown bird.  Okay, that's a really BIG bird, not black crow, a big Brown OWL.  Holy cow, camera is always ready to shoot but I'm going to need a telephoto, I took a chance & ran to get the other lens.  I got these OWL portraits before he flew away:

Okay, gotta go check on the Dog, he needed to go outside . . .

Photos of the day.

I'm a member of a special Facebook Group called Army Moms.  It's a group just for mother's of soldiers and really has become a support group.  There is no question that can't be answered, the Moms are from all walks of life with a son or daughter in the Army.  Some of the soldiers are on their way to Basic Training, others are on their 2nd or 3rd deployment.  

One of the Moms organized a Christmas card swap.  We all sent Christmas cards to our soldiers and we sent cards to each other.  Almost everyday from Thanksgiving to Christmas we received cards from all over the country!  It was so fun to go to the mailbox everyday to find these cards from Moms with the same kind of worries, thoughts & fears!  Our kids received over 40 cards from these Moms!

Anyway, here is a simple project I finished today.  I made an album to save all my special cards together in one book! 

See you tomorrow and HOOAH!

Today's photo!

Today's photo . . . well I went to work today @ For Keeps Sake and the very talented Renae C. came in 2 crafty projects.   She and best friend Jeanne R. created this sweet Victorian Valentine Cone.

This second project is a class they took with artist Candy Colwell.  Her Valentine Trinket Box is just adorable.  Hope she doesn't mind being my photo of the day!

It's Sunday, January 16, 2011

Today's photo of the day is several photos.   We often drive up to St. Charles, Mo to see our son on Sundays because it's his day off and  lately we've been taking him pieces of furniture for his newly decorated living room!   Anyway, one of our fav places to eat while in St. Charles is MARIO'S Donuts & Cafe.  Don't let the name fool you.  It's not just about the donuts @ this little gem of a place to eat.  Mario's has a great menu including breakfast, sandwiches, salads etc but our favorite menu item is their GYRO.  

Okay, so we were pulling up to our fav place & Adam (#1 Son) points out that it's not the only place to eat in this shopping plaza.  2 Doors down is SAULLO'S Italian Restaurant.  So today's photo is also a restaurant review.  Great handmade personal pan pizza. Very reasonably priced and great service.  Next time you're in St. Charles, check them out.  You'll have a hard time choosing but you can't go wrong either way!

Bon Appetit!

Oops, forgot yesterday's photo!

So today is a 2 fer.  I have a new laptop and it has a built in camera.  Even though I have had my laptop since November, this is the first time I've actually played with the camera feature.  Not very exciting but it is what it is!  Photo for 1/15/2011.

Now onto today's photo . . .

Today's photo is . . .

Just a little somethin' I've been working on, it's starting to come together . . . maybe it's a class. . . possibly . . . I'll know soon & I'll keep you posted!

Photo of the Day & Operation Write Home

Operation Write Home is an organization that supports our nation's Armed Services by sending blank, handmade cards to Heroes stationed overseas.  You can participate by following a few simple guidelines and then dropping off your cards @ For Keeps Sake where they will be boxed & sent to an official OWH shipper for sorting and mailing to our Heroes. 

This brings me to my Photo of the Day!  A very good customer, Lori Z., is a teacher @ Drummond Elementary School here in St. Louis.  Yesterday Lori dropped off over 200 hundred cards with envelopes for Operation Write Home handmade by a very special group of her kids!   I can't tell you how excited I was to take these home & get them ready to send to my shipper! 

The photo of the day . . . is. . . . wait for it . . .

3 of my class girls tonight.  

 They braved the ice cold weather to take my class, thanks to Jan, Jackie & Linda.  We played around with ink, stamps, embossing powder & created a little flip book for our page!

If you didn't make it tonight . . . your kits are under the counter & the sample is available upon asking!  See you all tomorrow!

Today's photo . . .

Well here it is . . . the snowstorm was somewhat unimpressive:

What is impressive is the bitter cold.  It just makes you want to cuddle up in a blankie and watch movies all day.  Maybe that's what will be on my agenda for tomorrow,  or maybe I'll get some creative time in my recently cleaned up & organized craft room.
 

Preserving the Past on Wednesday.

Preserving the Past will be back.  Ladies {and occasionally a gentleman}, we've been "Preserving the Past" since 2003!  I can hardly believe it!   So here it is . . . we will create a 2 Page Layout each month perfect for your Heritage Scrapbook!   Even if you don't have old photos, many of these layouts are suitable for your everyday scrapbooks.  

 This month . . . we will be using gorgeous Pink Paisley Queen Bee Papers.  We will create a small flip book and do a little stamping & embossing.

Bring your basic supplies PLUS:  Ranger Archival Coffee Ink
                                                        Embossing Ink
                                                        Gold Embossing Powder
                                                        Tombow Glue Pen for letters

Call For Keeps Sake for a reservation, space is limited to 13 people.  
314-487-8131

Photo of the day . . .

View from my window . . . 1/10/11

 

 

Today's photo is the view from my window today. Pretty sure it's going to look a little different when I get up in the morning.  It's snowing like crazy . . . stay tuned for tomorrow's view!

Today's photo . . .

Just a little peek, that's it . . . I can't give it away because it's a RAK for someone special.  Since 2000 I have been lucky enough to be part of a wonderful, motivational scrapbooking group called P.A.W.S {Page a Week Scrapbookers}.  Our goal was to motivate each other through sharing & support to try to do at least a page a week.  Wow, that was a while back ... I don't do a page a week anymore but we still try to keep in touch through our message board by sharing what we have done, posting challenges and sending out RAK's!  

 I wonder who the lucky gal will be?  RAK is going postal Wednesday, so keep an eye out girls!

Photo of the day . . .

Today's photo is my latest class:

Preserving the Past for February
Wednesday, Feb 9 @ 6pm

This class uses gorgeous papers from Webster's Pages!  Space is limited to 12 so you will want to reserve your spot early.  Call For Keeps Sake Scrapbook Store @ 314-487-8131.

Photo of the day...

My creative space isn't cute or pretty but I've worked pretty hard to make it functional.  I've spent the last several days organizing, purging & cleaning so this is probably as good as it gets.

I've got the tables uncovered too, so now I can get back into a creative groove!  Maybe tomorrow's picture will be something a little more fun!

Photo of the day!

Since yesterday's photo featured Puddin', it's only fair that today's photo is of Jay-Jay.  Soldier son got this little guy when he was only a few weeks old.  He is a designer dog, a "Wauzer" yep you can google it.  He's mama was a Westie and his papa was a Schnauzer. 

He's just about the cutest dog ever.  He's a lap dog and since soldier son went off to the Army, he likes to sleep with us.  Tom is not a big fan of the dog sleeping with us and definitely draws the line at him getting under the covers soooo he is banished to the foot of the bed. . . 
When Tom gets up @ 5am, he quietly gets dressed & slips out of the room so as not to disturb my beauty sleep.  The minute the bedroom door closes, Jay climbs right in bed with me.  He likes to snuggle, what can I do?  

Yesterday's photo . . .

Forgot to post this yesterday . . . meet Puddin' the family cat.  

Every animal that has come into our lives/house came via soldier son.   He always wanted pets, we've had guinea pigs {chocolate & cinnamon}, we've had a corn snake named Bart Connors {yes, the gymnast, during his gymnast years}, our sweet beagle mix Maggie that we lost in 2003.  He came home with a huge rabbit one time, forgot his name, he wasn't with us long.  Oh, and let's not forget the fish . . . lots of them.  Soldier son didn't stop with critters, sometimes he brought home kids.  They needed a place to stay for one reason or another and so they did.  
Puddin' came from the humane society in 2003, we didn't want another dog so we caved and let him adopt this Sweet kitty with a great disposition.  Oh yeah, not much later, we got a dog.   Of course, we're just taking care of these guys until soldier son comes home!

My class next week

Preserving the Past
Wednesday, January 12 @ 6PM

This month . . . we will be using gorgeous Pink Paisley Queen Bee Papers.  We will create a small flip book and do a little stamping & embossing.

Bring your basic supplies PLUS:  Ranger Archival Coffee Ink
                                                        Embossing Ink
                                                        Gold Embossing Powder
                                                        Tombow Glue Pen for letters

Call For Keeps Sake for a reservation, space is limited to 13 people.  
314-487-8131

Today's photo . . .

I'm still in there . . . the organizing continues.  Today's photo is my ribbon.  All organized and put away, I'm making progress, one bit of ribbon at a time.  

Photo of the day. . . or 2

Well, I decided this morning as I got ready to leave for work that this, boring unassuming bowl of cereal would be my photo.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all. . .

Don't get me wrong, cereal is one of my favorite snacks and it's good for you and yada, yada, yada.  Anyway, I got to work and this became my new photo of the day. 

 They are from Making Memories and they are just as yummy as they look!

Photo of the day . . .

It's the time of year when everyone's thoughts turn to ORGANIZING!  I seriously need to get in the Art Room, Scrap Room, Studio or whatever it's called these days and purge . . . so much stuff in a tiny space=I can't find a thing!  Anyway, I spent a few hours taking stuff out and this is the last pile or heap left . . . 

Wish me luck . . . it ain't pretty!

It's a new year!

I love that today is 1/1/11 . . . that just seems like a great start to a New Year!   We started the New Year with this:

 This is my new chair & my 1st photo of the New Year.   It's in our family room & this is where I sit when I do my computer work and read.  Who knows maybe this will be the start of a photo a day project . . .
 

New for January . . .

Baby Memories is a 2-page layout just for Baby in a shabby chic style!  

We will create a pamphlet style mini book that can be attached to the layout or enjoyed separately . . . call For Keeps Sake {314-487-8131} to reserve your spot, specify boy or girl!

Thursday, January 27 @ 6PM 

$18

Merry Christmas!

I love Christmas. . . but this year I just didn't want to put up our big tree with all the usual trappings.    This is my little tree in the family room.  This one may just have to stay up until soldier son gets home!

Okay then, I'm back . . .

After computer problems, blogger problems and various technical difficulties I'm back!  If you're still with me, the first thing I would like to do is share my first class of 2011.   

Preserving the Past will be back.  Ladies {and occasionally a gentleman}, we've been "Preserving the Past" since 2003!  I can hardly believe it!   So here it is . . . we will create a 2 Page Layout each month perfect for your Heritage Scrapbook!   Even if you don't have old photos, many of these layouts are suitable for your everyday scrapbooks.  

 This month . . . we will be using gorgeous Pink Paisley Queen Bee Papers.  We will create a small flip book and do a little stamping & embossing.

Bring your basic supplies PLUS:  Ranger Archival Coffee Ink
                                                        Embossing Ink
                                                        Gold Embossing Powder
                                                        Tombow Glue Pen for letters

Call For Keeps Sake for a reservation, space is limited to 13 people.  
314-487-8131
                                                        

My Class on Thursday!!

All Things Wendy for September , originally uploaded by Sue Kelemen.

SPace is still available in thursday's:

All Things Wendy for September
Thursday, September 23 @ 6PM

You know how For Keeps Sake loves Wendy Vecchi and her signature line of Studio 490 stamps! This month we will make a mini journal using Wendy's new stamp sets Collectible Art & Botanical Art. Decorate the cover with the stamp set Be Inspired-Make Art and get inky with Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Peeled Paint) & (Rusty Hinge), Ranger Archival Coffee and Cranberry Pigment Ink. Learn how Wendy builds dimensional accents using grunge paper, ink and stamps!

Supply List:
Black Foam Dots
Ink Blending Tool with foam
Craft SHeet
Archival Coffee Ink
Archival Black Ink
Peeled Paint Distress Ink
Rusty Hinge Distress Ink
Cranberry Pigment Ink
Tim Holtz Scissors (for cutting Grunge paper)
Beacon 3in1 Glue
Sanding Tools
Black Waterproof Pen, I use Copic Multiliner
Cropidile
Stamps sets used for this project:
Studio 490 "Be Inspired-Make Art"
"Botanical Art"
"Collectible Art"

A brand new class for FALL!

ALTER THIS! Home Banner, originally uploaded by Sue Kelemen.

ALTER THIS! Home Banner

Thursday, October 26 @ 6PM

Perfect for the upcoming season we will create a banner with lots of warm colors, patterns and details! We will use Basic Grey Pyrus.

In addition to Basic Supplies you will need:
Claudine Helmuths Mat Medium
Foam Brush
Brayer
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Tea Dye
Ranger Archival coffee ink
BLending Tools
Cropidile
Paper Piercer
Sanding Tools
Foam dots
Beacon 3in1 adhesive

Stamp Sets Used:
Studio 490 Homemade Art
Tim Holtz Falling Leaves

My class this week

Preserving the Past for September, originally uploaded by Sue Kelemen.

Space is still available in this month's Preserving the Past!



Wednesday, September 8 @ 6PM

This month's 2 page Heritage layout features a school theme. We are using background stamps from Wendy Vecchi's Art by the numbers stamp set.

Bring your basics plus any brown distress ink, tiny attacher