A HOBSON HALLOWEEN

Good morning all!! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and their extra hour today - lol!! I love when we fall back, that extra hour is awesome because I lie around being really lazy when I wake up knowing it is still early! Sorry I missed posting yesterday, but I don't have anything crafty to share at the moment as I am catching up on family time and we spent the whole day with the kids, ending with dinner at Olive Garden! We took them to see the movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua which was hilarious - just what we needed, good fun and laughs! Then, we did a little clothes shopping and went to dinner - home around nine and to bed for me! I love to lie in bed and read and last night I did for about three hours which I would normally spend in my craft room! But, it was worth it!! So, I thought today I would share some Halloween pics - Kayla went to a Halloween party with our Church youth group. She was the game Twister - totally cute! Tyler chose not to go, he stayed home, so no costume for him! I painted circles on Kayla to match the game board and added some of my bold brights ribbon to her ankles and wrists - hey, I knew it would come in handy, lol!!

Here is the hat - totally adorable, huh?! She said that people kept asking her if they could spin her head - heehee!!! I think it is really cute!

These next two pics show Kayla playing the Twister game - she is soooo silly, but I love capturing this in photos because she is at that age when I don't know if she is going to be likeable or very very grumpy to be around - you who have girls know EXACTLY what I am talking about - LOL! Lucky for me, she was in a great mood and did not seem to mind that I took so many pictures of her - I mean, there wasn't even any eye rolling!!! And, no Halloween would be complete without having the wiener dogs decked out in the latest doggy Halloween fashions - Clyde was Sgt. K-9, which fits his personality perfectly, and Bonnie was the good witch, complete with matching hat - LOL! They aren't thrilled with them, but hey, I think they are adorable! Here they are together looking quite spiffy in their little outfits - although I have to admit, Clyde looks less than pleased at having to wear his outfit AND have his picture taken! Bonnie just sort of goes with the flow, she is much more easy going than he is - but he is my baby and will do it for me *wink* So, there you have it, Halloween at the Hobsons - pretty low key this year, which was fine with me as this is definitely NOT my favorite holiday! I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas though - my favorite time of year!!! I will back tomorrow with something creative to share as well as to announce the winner of my blogaversary candy - it's not too late, just link my blog on yours and you are entered in the drawing!! Enjoy your Sunday!!

TAMARA'S SKETCH CHALLENGE, YUMMY CANDY, AND A WINNER!

Whoohoo!! Time for Tamara's sketch challenge!!! Her sketches are always fun to do, I look forward to them every week!! I feel very lucky to be a part of such a talented group of stampers - make sure you head on over to Tamara's to see what they did for this fabulous sketch! So, here is my take for this week - I wanted to use greens and blues, I was in that kind of mood. And, I wanted to incorporate my felt flowers, I have been really lovin' those lately!! I used my Baroque Motifs stamp set for this one, I will never tire of it - the swirls and all the different flowers are very me!!! And, I added some scalloped borders using my Scallop Edge Punch - I did two and then layered them on each other, and I am quite liking the look! I will leave you with the full recipe below! Want to try your hand at this sketch? Just upload your version to Tamara's site so we can all come and take a look at what you have created!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Always Artichoke, Not Quite Navy, Naturals White, Pattern Prints Hostess DSP
Inks - Not Quite Navy classic ink
Stamps - Baroque Motifs
Accessories - Scalloped Edge Punch, 1 inch circle punch, 3/4 inch circle punch, vintage brads, stampin' dimensionals, Large and Small oval punches, Always Artichoke narrow grosgrain ribbon, Felt Frenzy flowers
Okay, now it is time to announce the winner for the blog candy from yesterday - I used Random.org and it chose number 13 which is Fabi- whoohoo!!! Congrats, girl - send me your addy and I will get this in the mail to you! So, you guys want more?!!! Well, luckily I have just the thing for your sweet tooth! Here is today's blog candy! In keeping with the season, I decided that today's giveaway would be Halloween themed. Included are eight cards with matching envies, two full rolls of ribbon, and three holiday rubber stamps!!! So, what do you need to do to win this? Just leave me a comment on this post - if you leave a recipe as well, you get two chances and let me tell you, that does pay off and besides, doncha want to help me fill my recipe book? *wink* And, you don't want to miss tomorrow's - it will be the last day of blog candy, and you know I always save the best of last!!! Now, I am off to the VA hospital in Sacramento....uggghhhh!!!!!

NEW WINNER, MORE CANDY, A PROJECT, AND SOME PICS

Whew!!! Not the most inspiring title but hey, it's accurate, lol!! So sorry I never made it back to post yesterday, but between dentist, doctor, and grocery store appts, the day went by so fast!!! I am still fighting jet lag as well - it is always harder for me coming back to the East Coast from the West Coast, and this time it has really gotten to me! But, it was all worth it!! So, first things first!! Yep, I did it - a new project, whoohooo!! I have a friend who really wanted a DVD Tin notebook holder so I made her one!! I did use retired DP and ribbon (it's her favorite) but everything else is current. Isn't it cute??!! She is getting it this morning when I meet her for coffee, so I feel safe showing it to you now! Here is the inside - there are two pockets on the left hand side to store whatever she wants, and on the right is a pad of paper for her notes as well as a pen with matching dp. I am excited about giving it to her! I know she really wants one and it will be so nice to be able to make here smile! She is a really nice lady - I met her through being a Girl Scout leader and she has really helped me out quite a bit since I have lived here so now it is nice to be able to do something for her! Now, on to the winner of yesterday's blogaversary candy - using Random.org, here is the number chosen:
Random Integer Generator
Here is your random number: 3
Timestamp: 2008-10-29 04:04:02 UTC
Which means that the winner of the yummy candy is Froggy!!! Whoohooo Dawn, congrats to you girl - send me your addy and I will get this package in the mail to you! And, for those of you who didn't win, don't worry, I am posting more candy today and the rest of the week in celebration of my blogaversary!! So, here is today's candy up for grabs! There are two sets of stamps, some really cute buttons, and some fun felt stars in lots of different colors. What do you need to do to win? Just leave me a comment here on this post - yep, that's it!! But hey, I would LOVE it if you left me a yummy recipe to share - AND I will even give you and extra chance if you do! And, last but not least, here are some more pics of my fabulous scrapbook cruise. I decided that I better post some pics of me actually scrapbooking so you believe me when I say I actually DID get some pages done - LOL! So, this first pic is Vicki and I in the scrap room with all of our stash we packed along with us! Let me tell you, packing for a trip like this is not easy! And, this second pic is me working on an actual layout - I know, can you believe it?*wink* I will be sharing actual pics of my finished layouts later on this week. See, I did scrapbook! However, I cannot lie, I did LOTS of other things as well - and here are a few of them! This pic is me swimming in the ocean in Nassau - the water was a bit choppy from the storm the day before and there were several times I ended up on my butt rather than my feet, lol! But, it was a great time, I love swimming in the ocean! This next pic is me cutting a rug on the ship doing the Electric Slide - Vicki would not do it with me, but she had no problems taking pics of ME dancing in front of hundreds of strangers, lol!! I had lots of fun though, I love to dance and hey, I will never see those people again, right?! After all that dancing and fighting the waves, I needed some downtime, and I got plenty of it when we stopped at the private island belonging to Royal Caribbean called Cocoa Cay. Here I am enjoying the more tranquil waters floating around on my raft - aaaaahhh, it was fabulous! Although, getting up on the raft was quite comical to watch and although Vicki DID take pics, you don't get to see them - heehee! But, once I was up on there, it was pure joy to float around enjoying the warm breezes and the blue skies. This last picture shows me enjoying one of the many hammocks scattered all around the island. It was awesome, I had a refreshing drink in my hand(cola), soft breezes, and a good book - it was pure heaven! Vicki and I both laid in hammocks for about two hours before the sun had shifted so much we were roasting and then decided we needed to hit the waters with our beach mat again - tough life, huh?!!! It was wonderful, and I am ready to go again - next year for sure! Thanks for indulging me and listening to me ramble on - I hope you at least enjoy seeing some of the pics!

BLOGAVERSARY DAY TWO - LOTS TO SHARE!

Hi all!! I was trying to catch up on everyone's blogs yesterday - I have to say, it was pure eye candy, you all are so very talented, it was a great morning seeing them all while enjoying my coffee!!! I hope to finish catching up today!!! But, first things first - the winner of yesterday's blog candy chosen by Random.org is:
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:12
Timestamp: 2008-10-28 04:22:14 UTC
So, congrats to Rose Ann - WHOOHOOO Girl!!!! Send me your addy and I will get this in the mail to you tomorrow!!!!!! And, I have more - here is what I have for my blogaversary candy today! Again, some things based on birthdays, some fun tags, a cute little bday frame, and a friendship stamp!!! What do you need to do? Leave me a comment on this post - yep, that's it!! And, if you want, leave me a yummy holiday recipe - I am always looking for new recipes *wink* I will be back shortly with some more pics and a project but I must dash off to the dentist with the kiddos - lots to do since I have been gone, lol!!! See ya this afternoon!

A WHOLE BUNCH O' STUFF

Happy Monday all!!!! I am back from a wonderful vacation and have all kinds of things I have to share! But, first things first - the winner of the blog candy! Here is how I did it - I assigned every entry a number right down the line, including those who provided links on their blogs (thanks ladies, I appreciate the love) and taking out duplicate posts on the blog candy postings. Then, I plugged that number into random.org. And, this is the number chosen!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:144

Timestamp: 2008-10-26 23:15:30 UTC

That makes the winner Nikki Bond - WHOOHOO!!!! Way to go Nikki!!! Send me your addy and I will get this candy right on out to you!!! And, for all of you who visited me while I was gone, I want you to know how much I appreciate you!!! It means so much to me that you guys all took the time to stop by and leave me such sweet comments - I appreciate all of you!!!! So, want to win some more candy??!!! As I said, I am going to celebrate my blogaversary every day this week by giving a little something away each day. And, all you have to do to win today is leave me a comment and if you want, your favorite holiday recipe - yep, I am making another recipe book and want some yummy things to put in it!!! Heehee!!!! And, here is what the winner will receive from me: one package of felt cupcakes (taken out of pkg for pic because of glare), one birthday cake slice embellishment, a birthday tag, and a birthday hat! See the trend? Since my blog is one year old, I thought it might be fitting to have some candy that celebrated it's birthday - lol!!! So, I bet you are wondering where all my cruise pics are....well, I am still going through them, doing some editing, and will share them as soon as I can catch my breath!!! BUT, I have a few I can share today of when Vicki and I left on the cruise so here they are! This first pic is of the ship we sailed on called the Sovereign of the Seas. It is absolutely beautiful and there were TONS of restaurants, shops, and entertainment areas onboard! Sadly, this ship no longer sails with Royal Caribbean, it was sold last week to their overseas cruise line. There was only two more sailings after ours and then it was gone! Here are Vicki and I during the lifeboat drill...I am sure we would not be smiling if it was not a drill - lol!!! And, here is a picture of me being silly during the drill, I mean, hey, I couldn't resist! It was so unreal being packed in to the bar area with about three hundred other guests - I am glad we did not really have to get on lifeboats because I am not sure exactly how that would have turned out *wink* This next picture is Vicki and me standing on the deck as we sailed out of Port Canaveral where the weather was yucky and rainy, but we did not care because we were on our way to the Bahamas! And, this last one shows you just how I celebrated our immediate departure for the tropics - with a Pina Colada of course, lol!!!! So, those are the ones I have to share today, but I promise I will have more to share tomorrow once I have a chance to do some editing - we took almost 900 pictures so you can see why it is taking me awhile to go through them!! And, I will share something creative too, I promise *wink* Have a fabulous day!

BLOG CANDY - WHOOHOOOO!!!!

***THIS POST TO REMAIN ON TOP UNTIL OCTOBER 26th - SCROLL DOWN FOR NEWER POSTS***
Hi all!!! I have some celebrating to do!!! You see, I recently went over 50,000 hits on my blog thanks to you all so it's time for some yummy candy!!! In keeping with the fall theme, everything in this yummy loot has to do with fall in some way, shape, or fashion! The winner will receive everything you see in the photo! But, I also have something VERY special to celebrate....this is my blogaversary month - yep, on the 22nd of October, I will have been blogging for one year (the date of my blog is actually April, but I set it up and never did anything with it until October when I moved to CA!) and I cannot believe how fun this has been - I have met some fabulous people, both in person, and in the blogging sphere, have learned to be a better stamper through seeing all of your awesome creations, and have come to appreciate even more than ever the kindness, generosity and awesome spirit of crafters!!! So, thanks to all of you who take time out of your busy day to visit me regularly - I appreciate it immensely and read every single comment I receive!! Many of you have become very special to me - you are amazing women!!!! So, when I get back, I will be having a special blogaversary giveaway for one whole week....that's right, everyday for one week you will have a chance to win something from me!!! Whoohoo - won't that be fun??!!! Candy now, candy later - can't beat that!!! So, what do you have to do or THIS blog candy? Easy peasy - leave me a post on this post, and every post that I have while I am gone. For each post that you leave, you will be entered into the drawing - that makes it fair for those who visit me regularly. Also, if you link me on your blog, you will also get an entry!!! In your first post, let me know why you come to my blog, what you like, and any suggestions you may have on how I can make it better (be nice *wink*) But wait, I think I should sweeten the pot a little bit....I mean this IS a stampin' blog, right??!!!! Well, okay, let's add this: a really cute Bella stamp called Giftabella!! Why her?? Because she comes bearing gifts, lol!!!! Isn't she just the sweetest? I must have liked her, I ordered TWO!!! So, now I am sharing her with you! She will be added to the loot above!!!! And, who knows, maybe you will see some sort of surprise thrown in there as well - I have been known to do that!!! So, enjoy your Sunday, and I will have a card for you tomorrow!!

BACK FROM A FABULOUS TIME!!!

Hi all!!! This is a quick post to let you all know that yes, I am back and I will be doing the drawing for the blog candy first thing in the morning as well as posting my first new blog candy for my blogaversary blow out!!! I had a great time, I loved seeing all my friends, and the cruise was simply fantastic!!! I have lots of pics to share, but today is a family day.....I promise I will be back with stuff to share tomorrow!! Until then,