Welcome to our Back to School Blog Hop! September is here and the kids are heading back to school!  This time of year is always so bittersweet for me. It's the beginning of a new school year which always brings anxiety and excitement, this year especially since it's my sons last year in Elementary School. It's the unofficial end to the summer and hot days splashing in the pool, yet it's the beginning of my favorite season, autumn with it's crisp blue skies and amazing displays of color from the changing trees. And the best part of September, it's my birthday month!! Ah, all so bittersweet.

Today we have some very talented ladies who would love to share their beautiful projects with you. And of course we will have BLOG CANDY!!!

We have a $20 Gift Card up for grabs to Bear Hugs Art & Scraps.

Please stop by their FaceBook fan page to show them some love and thank them for this awesome prize!

To be eligible, all you have to do is:

1. Leave a comment on every blog in the hop

2. Go to Bear Hugs fan page, hit the LIKE button and leave a comment saying you are from the Back to School Hop!

As far as homework goes, doesn't get any easier than that! :)

If you came from Jennifer F's page then you're in the right place. If you just happened upon my blog today and would like to hop from the beginning head over to Pamela. Here is our line up:

 Pamela

Colleen

 Jennifer 

Maria 

 Jennifer F 

Nancy **You are here**

Gill 

Miriam 

CallyAnn

    Some of you may be familiar with my project...the magnetic board I keep in my kitchen. Since it's the first of the month I decided to feature it for this hop. I made an adorable bus stop scene for my fella's "first day of school" picture. Since school doesn't start until after Labor Day I'll add it in next week ;)

    I think the look on this kitty's face tells so many of the emotions we all feel on this first day, excitement, anxiety, happiness, and a little bit ascared. :)

   

    Supplies used for this project: Scraptastical Kreations amazing files, Recollections and various papers from my stash, inks and chalks, white Gelly Roll pen, Creative Memories magnetic board, and Cameo.

    I have some super awesome blog candy for one lucky winner!! $10 in files from Scraptastical Kreations! Simply leave a comment here and stop by the Scraptastical Kreations FB fan page and say hi from the hop! One winner will be picked at random on Tues. Sept. 4.

The winner of the Scraptastical Kreations blog candy is.......

Rhonda Bewley-Ratliff! Congratulations!

   Now, we wouldn’t want you to be tardy so climb on the bus and ride on over to the magnificently talented Gill.

Whether you will be starting out listening to the "Wheels on the Bus” Nursery Rhyme or at the end of the year listening to “The Graduation March”,  get yourself a big box of tissues, walk your baby out the door and take a deep breath. It’s a long 12 years! Have fun and take lots of pictures!

I hope we have inspired you in some way today, thanks for hopping with us!

~there's always a story

Nancy :)

My 1st Zoo Trip

Scraptastical Kreations has some of the most adorable files including the one featured in this layout, "Zoo Babies". I also love her flower files. The flowers on this page are from "Elegant Florals". 

The papers are from DCWV. Various inks and chalks have been applies, as well as white Gelly Roll accents and some crystal bling. ;) Really Reasonable Ribbon supplied the ribbon.

thanks for stopping by today!

~there's always a story

Nancy :)

Cameo Creations Sketch Challenge

I love sketch challenges. Sometimes I have such a hard time layering and picking out papers, when I have a sketch to follow it just seems to go so much easier, lol! For this sketch challenge I decided to get  jump on a Thanksgiving card. I used Scraptastical Kreations "Too Cute to Spook" (pumpkin), "Calendar Cuties" (September for the leaves), "Banner Blitz" (for the bracket shape) and "Flourish Frenzy" (well, for the flourish ;). Some of the papers are Recollections, some are just scraps from my stash. I made the curlies around the stem by covering floral wire in green floral tape then rolling up. The ribbon is a random piece, I don't quite remember where that one is from. Lastly, a touch of Perfect Pearls in the corner.

thanks for stopping by!

~there's always a story

Nancy :)

If you're looking for The Watermelon Crawl Hop click here. (Or scroll down and check out another cute project on the way ;)

Jamie's Birthday Blog Hop!

Welcome to Jamie's Birthday Blog Hop! If you've come here from Sandy's hop then you're in the right place. If you've just happened upon my page today and would like to hop from the beginning you can start at Jamie's blog. Today this group of truly talented ladies are celebrating my friend Jamie on her special day! Please join me in wishing her a birthday filled with love, happiness, family, presents and a giant delicious birthday cake, lol!! Here's to a wonderful day, a fabulous year ahead and many more to come!

Today may not be your birthday but we have a present for you! Blog Candy! Kristy from Scraptastical Kreations is sponsoring this hop with a gift of $15 in your choice of files! Here's what you need to do to be eligible to win:

• Leave a comment on each blog
• Say hello on Scraptastical Kreations' FaceBook page

That's it! You don't need to follow each blog but we'd love it if you did!

Here's today's line-up in case you get lost along the way:

Jamie

Ellen

Ashley

Jill

Maria

Paula

LissaMarie

Jessie

Sandy

Nancy **you are here**

Miranda

And now here's my project. I've made a fun birthday card featuring a piecing file from Scraptastical Kreations.

I added a skirt made from a couple pieces of ribbon.

Look! Action Wobble, lol!

Recipe:

Scraptastical Kreations files ~ Work It, Sophisticated Scallops

Coredinations plus random paper from my stash

Really Reasonable Ribbon

Action Wobble Spring

Silver embroidery thread

Stickles

White Gelly Roll Pen

Hot Paws writing tool

Various chalks and inks

Cameo

Thank you for stopping by today, I must now send you on to the very talented Miranda. I hope you're enjoying the hop and we've inspired you in some way!

~there's always a story

Nancy :)

The Watermelon Crawl Hop

Welcome to The Watermelon Crawl Hop! If you've crawled your way here  from Amber's blog then you're in the right place. If you'd like to crawl along from the beginning then you can head over to Pamela.
Who doesn't like to bite into a red, ripe juicy piece of watermelon on a hot summer day? I know I do, YUM! We eat their juicy goodness on the 4th of July and all summer long. You'll find them decorating kitchens on our walls, curtains and cookie jars. And they are so darn fun to craft with! Today we have some very talented women that want to share their watermelon crafts with you. You won't want to miss a thing so grab a watermelon smoothie or a melon-tini [my personal fav ;) ] sit back, relax, and come do the Watermelon Crawl!

We also have some wonderful blog candy sponsored by Jennifer Fox. She will be giving away 2 dust covers: 1 for a Cricut Expression and 1 for a Silhouette Cameo. To be eligible you MUST do the following:

• Go to everyone's blog and leave a comment.
• Go to Jennifer's FB page Wunder's Creations and like the page.
• Leave a comment on her FB page indicating which cover you would like (Cricut or Cameo)
• Winner will be announced Tuesday, August 21.

Here is our line-up n case you get lost along the way:

Pamela

Colleen

Jennifer

Jenny

Pam L

Amber

Nancy **you are here** :)

Amanda

Shawnee

Jennifer J

Tahi

Tina

Miriam

For my project I made an adorable card with a sweet slice of watermelon. I love the colors that go along with crafting with watermelon. It makes for such a fun bright combo!

Recipe:

Scraptastical Kreations~ KISS - Summer

Peachy Keens Stamps

Assorted Papers from my stash

Really Reasonable Ribbon

HotPaws pen tool

Stickles

White Gelly Roll Pen

Now I must send you to crawl on to the very talented Amanda. But remember to be eligible for the blog candy you must follow ALL the giveaway rules. 

Thanks for stopping by!

~there's always a story

Nancy :)

Wedding Frame...

I'd like to share and altered frame I made for a wedding gift. I used Flower #2 from Scraptastical Kreations "Garden Splendor" set. These flowers are so beautiful, I love working with them. They just make any project so much prettier!

thanks for stopping by
~there's always a story
Nancy :)

Welcome to our "OOL"!

Cameo Creation Challenge #12: Pool Party

I hope you enjoy this fun wall hanging I made to welcome friends and guests to our "OOL", lol. Everyone's always welcome (as long as, ya know, you abide by the sign, lol)!

Recipe:

Cameo

Silhouette 3D hanging canvas set

Scraptastical Kreations cutting files: Flip Flop, You are My Sunshine, Sizzling Summer Fun
Peachy Keen Stamps

Ribbon: Really Reasonable Ribbon

Stickles

White Gel Pen

Assorted gems and papers from my stash 

thanks for stopping by

~there's always a story

Nancy :) 

A Card for Nathan...

I came across a story on FB about an amazing little boy named Nathan. Tanya Stilwell has a lovely write up on her blog and is collecting cards to send to Nathan to brighten his day. Nathan is a 4 year old beautiful boy in the fight of his life, he has stage IV Neuroblastoma. If you would like to visit Nathan's Caring Bridge page and read more about his story click here.

Here is a card I made for Nathan. Among other things, he likes dinosaurs so I put this cute fella on the cover. Inside I printed and adhered some pictures of life size dinosaurs from a recent trip my son  and I took to Field Station Dinosaurs in NJ.

I included some double-sided speech bubbles so Nathan can write some captions of his own of what he thinks these dinosaurs might be saying.

I wrote a couple of silly captions to hopefully give him a giggle! 

I invite you to send a card of your own to Nathan and his family. You can never underestimate the power of prayer and positive thinking, every bit this family can get will most definitely help! Tanya is collecting the cards which she'll then mail off to the family altogether in a box. If you would like to send your own they can be mailed to:

Nathan Butler

c/o Tanya Stilwell

P.O. Box 143

Cecilia, KY 42724 

Thanks for stopping by today!
~there's always a story
Nancy :)