Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween... our FUN will be tomorrow, at the Jamboree at church. Here are some peppermint patty spider treats I made for the "Cake Walk". You have to know I am no baker, so this is the best I could come up with. The idea for these are in the gallery on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ They were somewhat time consuming, but fun, none the less. They are made using the StampinUp! scallop punch and the photo corners punch. I have to confess, I am NOT a fan of the photo corners punch... in fact, I had to borrow it from Betsy. I have decided this is the only forum in which I find it acceptable.

Next, my Halloween cards. Not much "reason" to send these out unless you have nieces and nephews!! And we have many, and 2 more on the way:) I love this "cat on a broomstick" (StampinUp!)... he is painted grey in honor of our cat, Cassidy. In case you haven't had the pleasure of meeting Cass, he has more attitude than is necessary, and that is NOT a good thing. He frequently "sneaks out" (read: bolts out the front door at any and every opportunity) and Ben has taken to writing stories about his adventures on the Outside. We believe it involves him cruising around on a broomstick.

Also featured on the card would be the Martha Stewart bat punch (again, lent by Betsy). The background paper (also a donation from Betsy) is from the fall stack from Joann's... "Boo" stamp is from theangelcompany (FREE gift with purchase stamp). Ribbon is from Michael's. Good grief, if it weren't for Betsy, I wouldn't have anything to post. Perhaps she needs her own blog!

Hope you have a great weekend, and for those interested in FAMILY news, we will be updating the family blog regularly now as my parents are moving to Israel for the next million months and contact with them will be limited. Ben and Carly will be posting occaisionally, for you entertainment! www.ryanmcgregor.blogspot.com

NEW Vintage Stamps from TAC

www.theangelcompany.net

A Dream, and a pretty good day

Well, yesterday was a pretty good day.

Not only did Ryan's youngest sister, Randee, complete the Detroit Marathon in UNDER 4 hours (INCREDIBLE!), and his brother, Rick, just 3 minutes behind her (again, INCREDIBLE)... but his beloved RAYS are on their way to the World Series. Personal Bests all around.

Ryan's birthday was on Thursday. If you are a baseball fan at all, and CERTAINLY if you are a RedSox fan, you are WELL AWARE that Thursday (again, Ryan's birthday) was NOT a good day for the RAYS. What was looking to be the perfect birthday present (a 7-0 lead with the RAYS up in a game that would end the ACLS series and seal the deal for the RAYS) ended very badly, and the RedSox pulled off an amazing win 8-7. But, I digress. This is the card I made for Ryan for his birthday. A couple of years ago, he made me aware of the fact that I made bday cards for everyone else, but not him. Huh. He was right. So now, I try really hard to include him in the fun:) Who knew he cared that much, right?! I found this little boy baseball stamp in a FISKARS clear set at JoAnn's... and the "Take me out to the Ballgame" in the shape of a baseball is from the MIRKWOOD vintage baseball set, and the "dream" stamp is from theangelcompany. You might notice the number "34" on the little boy. Kind of glad that is on that stamp... a subtle reminder of Big Papi's number, who I might add, I am completely terrified of. (That was for all my RedSox family members). A little fear, and a healthy dose of respect... nothing wrong with that. He just might have given me an ulcer, however!

OK! So, CONGRATULATIONS Randee and Rick! You have no idea how proud your brother is of you! Seriously, he talked about it for hours. He is so impressed with your hard work.

GO RAYS!!! Did I mention we have tickets to the World Series??!?!? Oh yeah:)

Quick Cards

I've been busy making a few "Quick Cards" and thought I might was well post them all together, or they'd NEVER make it here... I'm pretty sure the key to card making is color selection... almost anything looks good if the colors are good and coordinate, right?? :) That's what I tell myself when I'm getting dressed in the morning! Several paper companies have taken the guesswork out of your selections by putting together collections of papers that all match! Love that! Plus, I don't have to spend much time looking for anything.

There are LOTS of new babies coming to our church over the next few months and I was in serious need of some "Congrats" cards... I found a new love for the 4.5 x 6.5 cardstock matt-stacks you can find on sale at JoAnn's - they are perfect for making these cards (bonus: all matching!) this one is from Debbie Mumm "Baby Boy". The glitter on the pages make the card look more involved than it actually was! This is 2 pieces of paper cut in 1/2 and taped together. I used the other 1/2's for the duplicate card I made (remember when I said LOTS OF BABIES?). I always pick the paper, then color the stamped image to match.

Birthday card... same story! Same paper pad. Same stamp set from StampinUp! It almost feels like cheating:)

Are you seeing a pattern here?? Told you I was busy...

These papers came from the 4.5 x 6.5 cardstock stack from DCWV at JoAnn's "Nana's Nursery, Baby Boy"... I think lavendar is really more girlie:) I love how well they match my favorite StampinUp! cardstock, too. Just another added bonus:)

Hope you feel all inspired to make a bunch of quick, easy cards. It's not REALLY cheating, it's just using your time wisely, right??!?!

The Amazing Hair Elastic

Wonderful Invention, those covered hair elastics! I usually have one around my wrist at all times, or already in my hair! Found one more use for them... with 2 pieces of 8x11 paper, a composition notebook, a few stamps, a couple of eyelets, and 1/2 of a hair elastic (headband size)... you can create this fun altered notebook:) This one was for Carly's friend, to go along with the Claire's gift card for her bday party. It might be hard to actually see the elastic (it's white, and on the right side of the notebook). It's attached to the back cover using 2 eyelets (one at the top, one at the bottom).

MORE EXCITING NEWS:

That's my sweet husband holding his LONG AWAITED Rays Post Season Playoff tickets. Here's hoping we get to use the WORLD SERIES tickets! Regardless, my VERY committed and dedicated man is HAPPY! GO RAYS!!

Travelling, McGregor Style... Get ready to write!

A quick weekend trip means TRAVEL JOURNALS for us! The journals we kept over our summer vacation were such a hit, we HAD to have them again for this weekend. Remember my "bind-it-all" obsession??? Can you understand it now???

Carly has headed out to Michigan with her Dad on the annual baseball trip, Ben and I are on our way to New Hampshire to see my sweet sister and her family. WE are excited about "fall activities", and THEY are excited about hopefully seeing the RAYS "clinch" their division title, first time ever!!

These little journals are small, sized 4x4, featuring my favorite K&Company paper pads and kraft cardstock. These also have Karen Foster license plates on the covers, which are adorable! Stamped inside with stamps from theangelcompany, the days and dates stamps are from AUTUMN LEAVES, "messy dates". Over the summer, we had a "family meeting" each night before bed where we talked about (and wrote down) our favorite parts from each day, stuff we thought was funny, and what we hated:) That's our plan again... and when we get home, we will have lots to talk about, getting caught up on each others trips.

There are dividers for each day and a "Stuff" pocket in the back for small keepsakes, like tickets, etc.

Ok! We're off! I'm really looking forward to having Ben all to myself! I don't think that has happened since Carly was born, so it's time!

A word of advice...

My sister-in-law's shower has come and gone... I think perhaps I had WAY-TOO-MUCH-FUN creating little "crafty items" for it... this one just might be my favorite! Also my 2nd favorite part of her baby shower... first being everyone praying over Rochel, third being the food! But, I digress...

When each guest arrived, I asked them to write down some "motherly advice" on a 4x4 piece of cardstock. Now, Rochel and I are NO FAN of shower games, so we made an executive decision that there would be none. We do, however, enjoy PRIZES at shower's, so every so often while she was opening her gifts, I drew out a card of advice and read it out loud. That lucky person got a little prize, and we all got to benefit from their very great advice! A very fun part of her shower that fell under "My Favorite Parts, One and Two" would be the DVD Ryan and Rochel's mom sent for Rochel. She was unable to come down from Michigan to celebrate with us, so she graciously made a dvd, giving Rochel some really great advice and sent her and Eli each a bible. Not a dry eye in the house! Also, my sister-in-law's Renae and Kristi sent their advice along to be included in this book. It was wonderful to have "family participation" even though they all couldn't be here.

These little books are so fun to make, and I am compeletely digging my "Bind-It-All", a worthy investment from theangelcompany. You can get it for your 1/2 price item if you have a $100 "party/order"... Or you could just borrow mine! This book was made with the before mentioned 4x4 pieces of cardstock and 4x4 chipboard coasters for the cover.

In case you would also like to benefit from the advice I gave to Rochel, I will list it here...
"Put Eli to bed early. Never forget that before you called Eli "Baby", someone else was calling YOU "Baby" (*wink*wink*). One of the best gifts you can give you child is to love their father!"

And that's why Ben and Carly go to bed at 7:30pm. *sigh*