Who likes blog candy?

You do???

Well then head on over to a fellow Shackie's blog, Sunflowers and Dragonflies, and sign yourself up for some pretty neat goodies! Rub on's, stamps, and flowers....couldn't ask for anything more :)

(Photo courtesy of Beth, owner of Sunflowers and Dragonflies blog)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stop by tomorrow to see what I've been up to lately. Waiting for the Stickles to dry before photographing. Like Purple? Keep watching my blog this week to see some things done in purple. My very cool Secret Sis sent me a whole package of purple stuff! Once upon a time it was my favorite color, lately I haven't done much with it. I think she noticed ;)

26 years old. I can't believe it!

Today is my little brother's 26th birthday.

I can't believe it!

I don't even feel 26, so how can he be that old?!?!?
This photo was taken of him in May with his brand new baby girl.

I'm so incredibly proud of the man that he has become. When many guys his age would have walked away from the "unwed daddy" thing, my brother stepped up to the plate and took care of business. You can truly tell that he loves his little family, and that baby Hannah has him wrapped around her little finger. Watching him with her brought tears to my eyes. My brother has never been one to handle babies. If he got handed one, he had that ackward, stiff appearance and wasn't sure what to do. What a transformation to see him hold his daughter with confidence. He talks to her in a soft, sincere, loving voice.

I lost contact with him for several years. The lack of communication between my mother and I also distanced Vince and me. He's a momma's boy through and through, so when I made the decision to cut my mom out of my life (we reconnected in May, don't worry) I also lost my brother.

Little Miss Hannah has brought so much to the family already and she doesn't even know it.

I'm glad that my brother is back in my life. Even if it is hard to get ahold of him!

And because of that, I decided to start sending cards again.

This one was done with SEI papers, MM brads, and a $1 stamp from Michaels.

I stamped the image on vellum and then flipped it over and colored the opposite side with my Copics. Flipped it over again and colored in the candle with a clear Spica Glitter Pen.

Ticket punched the corners, then layered the vellum over top and used my paper piercer to pierce the edges.

Although fairly flat except for the brads, and (I thought) protected from the mail system by an extra sheet of paper in the envelope, my brother said it was mangled by the time it got there :( But he appreciated the thought....lol

Happy Birthday Vince! I hope you're able to do something special today :)

My baby niece starts daycare this week :(

Hannah was 6 days old when I met her and the conversation came up almost immediately....who was going to watch her when mommy went back to work? Last I knew they were going to put her in a chain daycare program (they have a friend that is manager there I guess).

I was really hoping that they'd decide that mommy needed to stay home until Hannah was older. Then I was wishing that I lived closer so she could come to Camp Auntie Kelly instead of daycare...lol But that's not likely to happen.

I just hope and pray that whoever handles this cute little thing is very good to her or they will find a very upset daddy and Auntie Kelly on their doorstep!!

Gosh I love that face!!

More goodies from my Secret Sister!

The last package I got from my Secret Sister had these cute little flower doodads in them. The second I saw them I thought "SHAKER CARD!" and promptly got to work.
She also sent me the cute little cupcake/birthday stamp set, and the ribbon. The stamps are one of the $1 sets, but I can't remember which brand right now. Paper is SEI bought in a stack at Michaels. Brads are MM. SU! ink, dog tag punch, and dimensionals used. Marvvy Giga square punch used to punch center. Cupcake colored with Copic markers. Paper edges distressed with a Heidi Swap edger.

Just Wanted to Say Hi

My Secret Sister (Round 2) sent me this book of K&Co tags. Admittedly, I am tag challenged! LOL! I don't know why, but placement and tags never work on my cards. But they are too pretty not to use, and well, I'm sure my SS didn't want me to just keep flipping thru them admiring them ;)

Paper is SU! Ribbon from eFavormart

House Mouse image was sent to me from a sweet Shackie. I don't remember who, but hopefully she sees this!

Colored with Copics. Brads are MM.

Cuttlebug embossing folder and Fiskars scallop scissors.

Little Duckie ATC

Another stamp set that I bought *just* so that I could join the ATC swap...he he

It's a duckie set by Darcies called Just Ducky. So many cute little ducks and sayings in that set. I couldn't pass it up!

Cardstock is SU! and Bazzill Bling. Ribbon is Offray and American Crafts (thank you SS!). The duck is colored with Copic Markers and I used Spica Glitter pens to add a little bling, as well as a white gel pen in the flower center. Brad is Making Memories. Rectangle Nestabilities used for orange mat.

Swimwear Round 2

The other day while at the lake, I hoped out of the boat to help pull it closer to shore (we were avoiding the boat dock). Not only was the water deeper than I thought it would be, but when I landed I found the one small area of rocks to land in. Ouch! And my BFF's husband was getting aggravated that we weren't moving fast enough so I didn't even get to whine about it...lol!

So I went in search of some swim shoes. And although the price of the cheaper ones appealed to me, they looked kind of dorky.

But I ran into these, and like the swimsuit and the life vest, I couldn't get them out of my head. And I'm pretty sure the pinks will match perfectly :)

They are both waiting for me down at the rental office to pick up as I'm headed to work. But you can bet that first thing in the morning when I get home, I'm trying them both on to see just how goofy I look! lol

3-D Beach Chair

Isn't this just about the cutest thing you've ever seen!?!?

Sherry, owner of The Stamp Shack and fellow blogger (Stampin Spot) is a genius when it comes to creating templates! She made this cute little 3-D Beach Chair template and since my BFF's birthday party is at the beach this weekend, I made this for her.

Sherry's templates are free for Stamp Shack members, but if you follow the link above, it'll take you to her blog where you can purchase the template, and many others!

Assembly is so incredibly simple, I couldn't believe it! The hardest part was cutting it out.

I wasn't feeling all that creative, so I kind of copied her sample. The birthday banner has a little wave in it for some extra dimension.

SU! Creamy Caramel cardstock, CTMH stamps, Happy Birthday stamp also by Sherry, Prima flowers, MM rhinestone brads.

Engagement Shoot

Aren't they a cute couple!?!

This is my BFF's sister (who's also my friend and co-worker) and her fiance'.

They are getting married at this beautiful place called Tazer Valley Farm in September.

It's going to be so pretty! I love the country setting and the barn is sooooo neat!

She wanted some pictures to use as engagement photos, so I went with them to the farm

and did a few shots. It was pretty out that day. Nice and warm, but a few overcast clouds making picture taking a breeze since we didn't need to worry about shadows. I just love how they turned out!

I had a great 4th, how about you?

No pictures to share, because I went to my BFF's sister's house out in the middle of nowhere, where they lit off a few fireworks. I barely had my camera out, especially once it got dark, I just wasn't that interested in the picture taking and all the work of lugging out the huge camera!

But I had a great time with their family. I'm lucky to have found a best friend that has a family that loves to welcome new members. I seem to fit right in, and nobody ever makes me feel like an outsider. :)

After cooking out, having a couple of Mike's, a round of Corn Hole, and a few fireworks, my BFF, her family, and I headed back to her house and went to bed. I slept a whole 2 hours. Apparently I've started a bout of insomnia. The next day we got up and putzed around for awhile, then we headed over to Lake Goodwin (not our picture) with their boat, a wake board, and a 3 person tube. My BFF's brother did the wake board. I was too chicken! He then jumped on the tube with my BFF and I. I've never been tubing before so it was a new, fun, and frightening experience! I was the only one without a life preserver on (I'm a good swimmer!!), and I thought I'd be fine because I love the water. But a few rounds on the tube crashing into the two foot waves the boat was making and I called it quits. I just kept picturing myself being tossed from the tube and going under and not being able to get up because of the waves. So the kids jumped on and went a few rounds before the weather started to turn and the water got too choppy. We headed back home where I ended up spending the night again. Why? My BFF convinced me that I should stay and help her out in her yard. Thinking it'd be some lawn mowing, a little weed pulling, and maybe some flower planting, I said "SURE!" Wrong, was I. We were out there for 5 hours, the weather was PERFECT!, and pulled 5 trailer fulls of weeds! They have A LOT of land! And that was just focusing around the foundation of the house, and quickly going thru some other areas of the front yard. I thought I wouldnt be able to move today, but it's not too bad. Just incase though, I lazed around all day ;)

Then I started thinking about tubing. And started looking at life vests. That got me thinking about my swimsuit (that I've had for 7 years) and how I *need* a new one! (not really). Looking around online and I found this cute one that got rave reviews......

So I bought it. :D Followed by this....

I liked that the suit said it has "thigh tamers" because I definately need something to tame these things...LOL! And on the life vest, I liked that the front dips down a bit so I won't feel choked by the vest while wearing it.

Now hopefully it gets here by the weekend! My BFF's birthday is on Thursday and Sunday they are having a party at the beach on Lake Goodwin. No more tubing for me unless the life vest comes!!

Hmmm....maybe now I need to look for some matching swim shoes....lol

I promise, eventually I'll have some cards to post here. I need to find my PS disk to download the program again so I dont have to work so hard to get pictures uploaded.