Back and still trying to catch up

This weekend, I went to Emerald Isle with a friend and her three kids. Together we had 4 kids and a dog to care for, Aimee 8 yrs old, her 8yr old son, her 6 yr old son and her 4 yr old daughter. I have not had a house full of kids like that in a few years it was fun and I enjoyed the interaction of the kids.. She kept apologizing for her kids but she forgets I have two that are older and have been through these stages and now working on my last one....
So with all the activities, the laughter, tears, smiles, hugs and then the sound of sleeping children after a busy day, I come back to my Creative Bloggers group to see whose turn it is for me to share something about.
This week it is Carol over at Shwanda.
Well Carol creates seaweed art...Well sorry Carol I never made it that far I got caught up in reading about her family, taking her survey on blended families (I have one), and doing the whole, "Hey I know that one!" and WOW! wish I had thought of that in many of her posts.
Our weekend with the kids was similar to having a blended family for only a weekend...though....It did make me homesick for my other children.
Then reading Carol's blog and her stories reminds me of a few things:

1. I need to share our story
2. I Love my blended family
3. I am blessed my family blended so nicely
4. The blending never stops
5. I would never change any of it

If you have a blended Family or know of someone who does send them to Carols blog Shwanda and check out some of her posts.
These will make you feel right at home. I can not relate to all that Carol went through but many of her feelings with her blended family, I do know and can relate to.
This is a challenge for many growing and changing families and the support is needed to help with these transitions. If we can not do it for ourselves then we need to do it for the kids.



This was our first Christmas together.
Our Blended family lives as one big happy functionally dysfunctional family!
Huggs,
Robin

Today is about a giveaway over at Buy By Mom. The giveaway is


"For the Americana Bash, Sew Fierce is offering up one Custom Made to Order Infant Gift Set which includes:

• (1) Monogrammed Embroidered Huggies Natural Care Wipes Travel Cases with Wipes Included
• (1) Embroidered Bib with snap closure
• (2) Matching Burp Cloths
  

Winner will get to select their choice of fabric, and Stephanie with Sew Fierce will go over all the details with the winner to ensure they get the perfect gift set."


Yes this is a direct quote from Buy By Mom.. I was not sure how to mention the contest in a way that would do it justice. But all the links are in the appropriate places to make sure you make your way over to check out the giveaway.

I found this by accident because Stephanie of Sew Fierce happened to spot the USMC uniform on my wonderful husband in my pic (Amazing how the military wives pick up on those...) and posted a comment so I went to her blog to show the love and in my snooping around found this.

So I wanted to do my job and spread the word!!!
I will be duplicating this and posting it on my other blog too!
Best of luck!
Huggs,
Robin

Digi-Stamps

So I posted a second post on my Family Happenings Blog. Which really had nothing to do with what the family was up to but a lot to do with my ramblings.
So here I thought I would post something crafty.
Yesterday in my web searching I stumbled across Digi-Stamps. I had no idea what these were. Well, being the graphic collector that I am I had to check them out and find out more about digi-stamps.

Digi-stamps are graphics that you print out on card stock ( or other paper choices) and then can color. These can be used in many ways i.e. scrapbooking, card making and other crafts. Your imagination is the only limit. These are the inexpensive solution to buying stamps. In addition saves space because you store them on your computer! So I did some more exploring and I am sure my description is not doing them justice.

In my search I came across an artist who I have always admired and he NOW has Digi-Stamps of his creations! Dustin Pike has been around for a few years. I first discovered his art work back in 2003 (I think, maybe 2004) that was around the time I was starting my candywrapper business. So it was interesting to see where he has taken his art work.
So I spent most of my day searching and following links off Dustin’s blog. (I get lost with all my searching and lose a good portion of my day if not careful)
This is where I found something I want to try. (My Hubby will not be happy about this)
Card-making with Digi-Stamps.

Michelle over at Designing With Michelle did a coloring tutorial. She makes it sound so easy and fun! Go check it out. She did a great job of explaining how she colors in these Digi-Stamps. Looks like coloring in a coloring book but with a few twist. I have always enjoyed coloring in coloring books. Makes me feel like a kid again! So this will be my next project. I will post pics here once I get my card done.
In addition surf around Michelle’s blog and see all the other things she has done. Her cards are beautiful!

Now off to do some crafting!
Huggs,
Robin