The Best Mistake We Ever Made!!!

Our dog Cookie

 In my description on this blog and every other social media outlet I am on I mention my dog Cookie. I figure I am well overdue in introducing her on here since she is such a major part of my life. So here she is! She is currently eight years old and will be nine on St. Patrick's Day.

Now my hubby and I constantly refer to her as "the best mistake we ever made" and here is why. Jamie and I had gone out to dinner to Red Lobster and I ordered one of their huge lobsterita drinks (oh and I'm a light weight like a full beer in and I'm ready for bed) and I finished mine all by myself so I was quite giggly. My husband was driving us home when we somehow got to talking about puppies and the pet store (yes, I know go ahead and gasp, we both hate to admit this) in the mall. Next thing I know we are pulling a u-turn and heading for the mall. This is how we met Cookie. She was the cutest little bundle of fur and when we were playing with her she kept untying Jamie's shoe laces.

We were smitten and everybody who worked there got in line to hug her goodbye and they were all so sad but glad she was getting a good home. Ever since we have blamed our decision to buy a dog from a pet store on my lobsterita. Turns out she has been the sweetest dog we have ever known! One of her favorite things to do is have my husband pick her up and hold her on her back like a baby. She has been known to fall asleep like this. Another absolutely endearing thing she does is when you are holding her she will bury her head against your chest. It is just so sweet, one of her veterinarians was so smitten with her I was a little relieved when he gave her back to me.

I don't know what it is about dogs that is so entertaining but this little gal takes the cake! After she eats her breakfast or dinner she will often be found squirming around on her back making the kind of noises I associate with a great massage or really delicious food. It is hilarious! She also likes to get e

very single toy she has and put them in a circle (as well a dog can form a circle anyway) and then lay in the middle of them.

She likes to curl up in the crook of your legs if you are laying down on the couch

She loves so many things and I do mean LOVES! She loves her crate and often times if she isn't right with us or in her little beds (yes beds we have them all around the house because she likes to be close to us no matter what we are doing) she is in her crate. She is so easily excitable as well. She is excited every morning when we let her out of her crate to go out, she is excited every evening when we say "go to bed" and she runs into her crate (and if she thinks you weren't looking she will leave her crate and go back in making sure that you are watching) so excited for bedtime. She excitedly runs to the mailbox to sniff the pole and then when you call her back into the house she runs like the wind (sooo flippin funny to see!)

She alone has brought us so much joy and taught us that bottom line, we should all just be excited for each new day!

Wishing you sunshine and smiles,
Kim :)

Plan It!

Hi Everybody!

Hope you are having a great President's Day (maybe even getting in on some great President's Day sales, ya know, like the Forefathers intended)!

Anyway I wanted to talk about planning today, more accurately planners themselves. I have been looking for a good planner for a couple of years now and have looked at several. I went to Target, Staples, Office Depot, I searched online and considered buying an Erin Condren planner but just couldn't quite bring myself to pull the trigger. (I lucked out and one of my friends gave me an Erin Condren planner that they found on discount at Office Depot, it turned out to be a really great planner.) Then I came across an album of planners on Scrapping For Less while looking for my 2016 planner and my search was over!

The planner I chose is from Simple Stories and is called Carpe Diem planner. One of the reasons I really like this planner is that it is blank and you are able to write in your dates. That feature works for me especially this year because I was still out of the country when the year started and didn't have Scrapping For Less send it to me in Ireland because I didn't want to pay the postage since it would only be a few weeks. So I didn't use January but it won't go to waste either. I put it at the back of the planner and I will be able to use it next year!

It is full of inspiring sayings and I love the color as well. I really like to have the option to fill out what I want to accomplish in the day because it helps me organize my thoughts. I also like the perpetual calendar that is at the front of the planner so I can put down birthdays I want to remember. There are others available at Scrapping For Less as well but this is the one I thought would work best for me.

I wanted to share this planner because it took me so long to find one that I was really a fan of and that I felt was as flexible as what I was looking for. Hope this helps and that you are able to find a planner that will work for you.  Do you all use a planner that you write in or do you use your phone or both? I use both, I like to keep details written down while I put the main events on my phone especially the ones that I want to share with my husband so that we aren't constantly having to ask each other if we are available on certain dates.



Wishing you sunshine and smiles,
Kim :)

Valentine Series 2016 #6

Hi ya!

I am excited to show the image I used on today's card. I borrowed this stamp from a friend over a year ago I believe (and am a little embarrassed to admit). I took it with me to Ireland and looked at it often always having the intention of making this card but didn't quite get to it. I brought it back home with me because I had the card I intended to use it on already in my head. It has been in my mind for quite some time and it feels great to get it out here into the real world!

This is for a friend of mine who LOVES tulips and I wanted to make a card for her with this image because I cannot look at it without thinking of her. Plus the little gal on the image looks to me like she is just bursting with joy to share all the tulips she has. I think the image lends itself to bright and happy colors and I really wanted it to have a cheery feeling.

Ingredients: 

• image is from Penny Black and created by Mo Manning
• the yellow and blue paper is from my stash
• the red striped paper is from Echo Park 8x8 paper pad Dots & Stripes
• I used Copic markers to color the image
• Wink of Stella in clear to add some sparkle to the flowers and the vases
• I stamped the sentiment on to a label created with a label punch from the Paper Studio
• the sentiment is from Hampton Arts Jillibean Soup Handwritten Sentiments
• stamped the sentiment using My Favorite Things hybrid ink in Wild Cherry
• stamped the main image using My Favorite Things hybrid ink in Black Licorice
• the paper the image is stamped on is Neenah Classic Crest Card in Solar White (this is the paper I bought in the UK and the sizing is different than in the States) 

I have made this card for one of my closest girlfriends and I look forward to giving it to her for Valentine's Day. There really isn't anything that lends this particular image to V-day itself but when I see this image I think of my friend and I thought it would be a perfect image to include on a card to let her know I love her and am thinking of her. So keep in mind that if you don't feel that you have a Valentine specific image that lends itself to be used for friends or family etc you don't have to! Just find an image that either makes you think of them or that you think they would enjoy seeing. The sentiment doesn't even have to be related to Valentine's Day you can always just write it on the inside. Either way I cannot imagine that they wouldn't be pleased to get a card from you and that it would certainly bring a smile to their face, we all like to know we are loved.

Oh! One more thing...it may not stand out to you and I realize that I may be pointing it out and ruining the image for you but it SCREAMS out to me when I look at the card but I have repeated the mantra that "handmade items are NOT perfect nor are they meant to be" (sigh) and I am okay now. I was coloring that tiny little piece of her scarf between her ear and her hair and my marker "burped", which means that too much ink came out and I FREAKED OUT!!! It went into her face and I thought the image was ruined and i had already colored all the flowers and vases and I was in shock! Then I calmed down, blotted the area with a paper towel and used my lightest skin color to move the yellow out of her face as much as I could. I think it is passable enough to still be used and given but I would be lying through my teeth if I said that my eyes don't go straight to that blemish as soon as I look at the card, I am however able to take in the entire image and I feel better about it. I mention this little incident to just encourage you that if you make a mistake or a mistake is made for you DON'T PANIC! There is usually a way to resolve it without trashing the card and starting over. :)

Thanks for joining me for a card and a bit of rambling!

Wishing you sunshine and smiles,
Kim :)