Missing In Action!

If your looking for my give aways, my Blog Give Away is here! and my Staedtler Give Away is here!

I have been missing in action for a while and maybe some of you may have wondered if I was ever coming back! Lol. Sorry about that! But I had to put life here and crafting on hold for a little while.  Well to be honest the past two weeks have been totally crazy for us. Well for those of you who do not know, I have been homeschooling this school year and it is a learning experience for sure. We have had projects to catch up on and test to complete. Then there was our district Heritage Fair. I was on the committee this year and was also helping my son with his project. So those are the things that have kept me busy for the past little while.

All of our family had so much fun at this Homeschooling Event. I am happy to report that my sweet young man placed 3rd. We are so happy about that! He is not one for large groups of people and can be somewhat quiet at times. So to see him come into his own is truly a blessing. To see a once shy kid stand before judges and present his project with so much self confidence and friendliness was totally amazing. (He has always been friendly, but mostly to those he always knew...strangers not so much.) To get feedback from the judges and to see the positive comments about him being a great speaker made this Mama's heart flutter with shear joy!! To see him shake hands with all the judges and introduce himself was so great! Yes, I am so happy for this major change in my sweet guy!! I have lots to thank God for indeed!

We have been studying in our History course about the War of 1812 and he wanted to do his project on important military structures that are still around. Here he is, in his cool hat sharing his project on Martello Tower.  

This picture was taken during the judging process.

Now these pictures were taken after the awards ceremony and we are proud parents.

And yes, this was a blooper picture below. I have no idea what we are laughing about, but were having a great time that is for sure.

So has you can clearly see we have been busy. Also, this weekend I attended a 3 day crop and it was one of the best I have ever attended. I got to sit with some other Newfie Gals and I don't think that I have laugh so hard and so much, as I did this weekend. Thanks Michelle, Lorna, Una, and Diane!!! These ladies really went out of their way to make me feel apart of their group and I am so grateful.

To be honest I haven't been to an event of this nature for a very long time. Sometimes I am scared that I will be myself to much and that someone won't know how to take my sense of humor or my take on life in general. I know I shouldn't care about this, but I do!!

I attended a crop last fall but it was a very small event, but this was a bigger event for me and I haven't been to one like this in over 3 years. Since then I haven't been around a lot of folks in a long time. So knowing how to deal with others sometimes can be difficult for me. I was never shy but, very much a people person, but when I had my operation on my hand and than later hurt my back, I didn't go anywhere or take part in group settings. This is the worst thing that you can do, because when you try to get back into things again it can be so difficult.

So I was somewhat anxious about going to this one really. I was gonna back out but had paid in advance. So I had to go! I was anxious to say the least that I would not fit in because it has been so long for me, but this was not the case. The ladies were all great and though conversations were serious at different times during the day, I think all in all we respected each other and had a great time. I sure hope so anyway. I hope that none of my serious or silly-fun talk didn't offend anyone or turn anyone off. I think sometimes when you are lonely and out of the loop, you can be misunderstood and find it difficult to fit in again and belong.  Sometimes that takes time and other times it is just that love and kindness extended to you that makes all the difference. To know that there are those who have compassion for others and go out of their way to show that kindness, makes other people want to do the same. So all in all, it is a continual circle. Some of the gals there this weekend really made me feel that way and I am so happy that I got the chance to meet such amazing and inspiring ladies.

You should see their layouts! Your mouth would surely drop. I kept telling them that they should submit them for publishing. I just think that when someone's work is amazing that the rest of the world should have the opportunity to see it. That's it! Anyway, it was a great weekend. I hope that we all get together again soon. I will share some of my layouts later.

Okay, on to other things now! I did want to share a card with you that I did resently. This card was one that I started a long time ago but never finished. It was recently completed for a challenge at Stampin' Sisters In Christ challenge blog. It was for a challange that my friend Karen did at our Flickr Group. So it was to make a card using patterned papers. This is my card in a vintage style. To check out Karen's cards go here!

 

I uesed "Lost & Found" paper by My Mind's Eye and one of my go-to stamps from Hero Arts - Hand Drawn Blossom(#CG285), plus this script stamp - Old Letter Writing( #S4878).  

Here is Karen's beautiful card. Didn't she do an amazing job! Wow!

Sorry such a long post, but I had lots to share. Check back this week for layouts, cards, and tutorials. Don't forget that the Month of May is Scrapbooking month and lots of places will be celebrating National Scrapbooking Day which is this coming Saturday. What are you making for that day? Something wonderful I am sure! Until later....

Take Care of Yourselves & Each Other.

Dana