Grunged Up Birthday

I made this card for my son’s birthday.  I was so excited to use my new Papertrey stamps.  They came at the perfect time.   For this card, I used Grunge Me, My Hero, My Dad, Star Prints, Ad Sense, and Polka Dot Basics II.

I used Versamark and Weathered Wood, Fired Brick, Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy distress inks.  I love using these inks any time I want that distressed look.  I also really like the way they look on kraft cardstock.

I have been spending a lot of time in my craft room lately, but cleaning and organizing instead of stamping.  It has turned into a much bigger project than I wanted it to be and now I am just ready to stamp.  I am so ready to make something!

Have a fantastic day!

~Karen

Mother’s Day and 31 Days to Clean update

This is a last minute Mother’s Day card I made for my daughter-in-law.  I used Background Basics: Twinkle, Label Basics, Delightful Dahlia and Flower Fusion #3 stamp sets from Papertrey.

I got the sweetest gift from my kids this year.  They all got together and made me a basket of my favorite things.  It really touched me that they took the time to do that for me, not to mention how special it was that they knew so many of my favorite things.  They did a really great job!  I received my very first Grandma card this year.  That was a new experience.  My granddaughter saw me at church on Sunday and yelled down the hallway, “Happy Mother’s Day, Grandma!”….so sweet, talk about melting my heart.

I am finding I am not able to keep up with the really big jobs, but I am very happy with the progress I am making.  I definitely wouldn’t be this far along in my cleaning without this challenge.  So far, I have accomplished…

My refrigerator and freezer are cleaned out and organized.

All of the tops of my cabinets (which includes cleaning all of the glass “untouchables” I keep up there), the top of my refrigerator and my ceiling fan are clean.

My oven and microwave are gleaming.

My kitchen windows are spotless (for now) and the vertical blinds and window treatments are all clean.

All of my cabinets are clean and shiny.

I have one cabinet all cleaned out and organized and have made really good progress on cleaning and organizing my pantry.

My favorite part of this challenge are the Mary challenges, and I have really enjoyed  just reading the book on its own.  I have found it to be so inspiring and thought provoking.  I think I will find myself reading it over and over again.  You can find more info on this book here and on the challenge here.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. 

~Karen

Happy Anniversary

An anniversary card I made with the Sending You stamp set from Papertrey.

I stamped some flowers on Rustic Cream cardstock for the inside.

I am really looking forward to spending some time with my family this weekend.

I hope your weekend is fabulous!

~Karen

Homemaker’s Challenge—31 days to clean

If you are here looking for WORDart, I am taking the month off to focus on finishing the school year out and getting my home in order.  I usually take the first month after we finish school to catch up on all that heavy cleaning that doesn’t get done during the school year.  As a homeschooling mom, I find it is hard to keep up with both.  I came across the 31 days to clean challenge going on now and decided to “just do it”.  I am very excited that if I can stay on top of this, it will mean I am finished with school and my house will be clean at the same time!  Hopefully that means more crafty time for me…and a more relaxed summer. 

More about the challenge…  The challenge is based on the book “31 days to clean-Having a Martha House the Mary Way”.  The thing I really love about this challenge is that it doesn’t just focus on the physical part of cleaning but it also focuses on our hearts and our motives for what we do.  We can have a perfectly clean home, but if our heart is dirty then that is what our loved ones will see.  They will notice that our attitude is not right and our home will not be the bright, happy home we desire it to be.

This book is such a great read even if you are not doing the challenge.  It has already challenged me to look at things differently than I have before.  You can find the book here and more info about the challenge at Joyful Mothering.

I will be sharing more about the challenges as I go along.

And a note about WORDart…If you have used my WORDart, I would love to see what you have made with it.  Please feel free to leave me a link.  You can see all of the WORDart that I have created by going here.

Have a wonderful day!

~Karen