Tie Dye... uggggh

So the kids have spirit week at school, and today's supposed to be a day off... meaning a day "on" for Mom. But the flurry of activity has got me just wore out and my frustration is building!!!!!

Tomorrow is 'Decade Day'...

"We want to wear tie dye shirts!"
"Fine"

off to the store, t-shirts and tie dye kit purchased.... two hours later......

"Did you read the directions?"
"Yes Mom"
"Dinner is almost on the table, please get your shirts dyed and wrapped" (they have to sit for 6-8 hours)


"We got this Mom" typical teenagers - moms don't know ANYTHING!

This morning I had to drop them at school, the halls must be decorated ya know. Two feverish toddlers in tow I made the drive, and returned home to unwrap the shirts and do the next step..... but somehow I don't think they're done correctly...

are you sure you read the directions??????? isn't the color supposed to be put down INTO the crevices of the rolled up shirt???

make a quick phone call....

"Where are the rest of the shirts? You guys didn't color these right - they're terrible.... they look like a shirt you WORE while tie dye is being done!"

"Are you kidding me Mom? We need those for tomorrow!"
"Why didn't you follow the directions?"

so, off to the garage I go, with another youngster - "We must tie dye two more shirts!" Mom is always "the fixer" in our house...

p.s. you should always wear gloves..... it's going to be days before my nails don't appear to have black crammed under them... yuck!

I'll be back later with the new shirts... hopefully they'll be "good enough" :-)

Welcome Fall

I took a little trip to a near-by town last weekend and took a few photos along the way. The town was still holding their summer street fair which they hold on the first weekend of every month, but there were some strange characters hanging around town who whispered of a different time of year....

some were "cute"

others not so much....

The sky was really blue with those big clouds around and the air was a bit breezy and brisk with the promise of fall... I just LOVE this time of year!

An Award! Who makes you smile?

I received this award from my beautiful wonderful friend June who I've met through blogging, art and genealogy. June is such a sweet lady for thinking of me! You are a wonderful person! June has several art blogs which you can visit here, here and here. They're very much worth a visit!

As always, there are rules for this award; you must list 5 things about yourself and pass along to 5 other bloggers who have made you smile.

First, my five things:

1: 1st and most importantly I am "mommy" to my 5 children.

2: I am married to an wonderful husband
3: I love crafting and I love genealogy even more. Two very time consuming hobbies that I don't seem to have enough time to dedicate to.
4: My favorite time of year is now, when the weather is turning cooler
5: I am somewhat of a packrat but trying to get organized

Now, to pass this along to other bloggers who make me smile:

The Kathryn Wheel - lovely works of art and a great lady to go along with it

a day in the life of a crazed mom - so many things to cover with your kids - she sure has a wonderful and fun way of sharing her experiences

Please don't eat sushi! - a grown man sharing HUNDREDS of hysterical letters from his mother - this is a must read and always makes me smile!

Ilka's Attic - beautiful photography and a mixed media artist

Long time no see..

My children have been out of school for a little over 10 weeks, and it certainly shows on my blog. I hope to get back to crafting and blogging very soon, right after all the school supplies are purchased, clothing is bought, athletic try-outs, practices and the actual first day of school. Summer will be coming to a close and for me this brings mixed emotions. On one hand I've got them all here everyday, fighting, screaming, making plans and dirtying up the house. On the other hand they're somewhat helpful - and I use this term lightly - in keeping up with the younger of the bunch and slightly helpful when it comes to the housework. Some days are fun, with laughter, hanging out together and working together - others.... I could just scream!

So, if you've visited my blog looking for some artsy tidbit or words of wisdom, I'm very sorry to disappoint, but please don't give up on me yet!

Blog Candy Alert!

I know I know, I've not posted ANYTHING for quite some time but I had to pass this along..

Kristen over at Kristen's Kards and Klay is giving away some great blog candy - pictured here - swing on over to her blog and check it out!

A bit of Blog Love

One of my wonderful Genealogy Blog friends, Gini over at Ginisology has awarded Cindy's Place with the One Lovely Blog Award. I am touched that she thought of me.


This award has made its rounds for sometime and I am at a loss for 7 other bloggers to award it to, so I will proudly post it here.

Here's the other

This is the other card I made for the Military History swap. I wanted to do something about WWII and since my Grandfather was a gunner in one of these planes I wanted to highlight the flying fortress and the day of his first mission (background news).

Thanks for stopping by!

Where has the time gone?

It's unbelievable that it's almost May already! I see that I've had a bit of traffic lately, and I'm not sure why folks are stopping by, but seeing that I've not posted in more than a month they probably won't be back :-)

My art is still a suffering casualty of my other obsession and it shows because my "other" blog is getting many more updates - although I've been in a bit of a slump with that lately as well but getting some leads!

I wanted to share today this card that I made I made some time ago for a Military History swap in my Yahoo ATC group (ATC_Connection). Hopefully with summer right around the corner, and coming faster all the time, the running can stop and I will again be able to enjoy making some cards with my wonderful friends.

Susan is giving it away - You GOTTA get this book!!!

My artistic side has suffered lately because I've been so wrapped up in the genealogy work that I'm doing. But, I need to let you know about this book.... AND SUSAN IS GIVING ONE AWAY!!!!

This book is for me one of those creative escapes that I can return to again and again. When my creativity is suffering, I can visit it's pages and I feel like I could stay up all night making such offerings that she's got here. It's a great collection from some fantastic mixed media artists and she's done a wonderful job taking you on a personal tour of their work. You just gotta check this book out!

If you'd like to enter Susan's giveaway, visit her post here and follow her instructions. If you don't win, all is not lost! You can get your own copy at Amazon here. Visit the Amazon link and take a look at a few of the beautiful pages in this book - you don't want to miss it!

Ahhhhh... Fat Tuesday!

And a couple more....

I'm still using up those peeled paper backgrounds that I made last month. Only two left! The backgrounds were fun to make, easy and had endless possibilities!

Time for a cuppa tea?

Having a cuppa tea with my friends June & Tabby.... have a great day ladies!