Soni's Front Porch

February....time to end the January Blahs...

2012-02-02T15:36:00.000-08:00

Well here I am, finally... Geesh, not sure what my problem was, but I just had no energy, or enthusiasm....That sure does put a damper on the Creating Mood...lol

So here is a left over challenge card, it was to be completed in January, but I guess Feb 2 will have to do : )

Th DP was black and white...Paperbilities, from Hobby Lobby, but I choose to add some barely banana by SU with a marker ... Then I used a blender pen to color in the images... Those are from a set called Morning Cup again from SU... Nothing too fancy, but I did add some flowers with bling to dress it up a bit...

And # 2 was a challenge from SCS . I rarely try the challenges, but I was looking for some thing to do today and this seemed easy enough... I choose baha and brown suede textured cardstock as my colors, again from SU. I think these colors are soft and rich and pretty... I had ribbon from SU that blended really nice. The challenge was to find and use an image more than once on our card. I stamped my own background on the Baha, then I cut out an extra butterfly to add for depth or dimension... Super easy, but I thought it turned out quite pretty... It will be used as a thank you card, for a special friend...

Blog Candy

2012-02-02T06:17:00.000-08:00

As I was admiring a new site , and all of their precious stamps and images,   I saw this and thought you all may be interested...
Here is the link to the site and there is a link to the blog, and this awesome blog candy offer... teddybo.com for the site
     or teddybochallenge.blogspot.com for the link to this offer

what a great way to start February...You still have time to win this package, so hurry on over...These are so adorable

A Dollop of Sunshine

2012-01-21T18:42:00.000-08:00

Here is another card for the Teapot Tuesday Ladies... This card was to bring a smile or giggle to a sweet young lady... She likes sunshine, Twilight movies and characters and dogs... I hope this worked.

It is daffodil yellow base( for the sunshine effect ) with basic gray, a layer of daffodil embossed with a sizzix folder of flowers, then some SU dp and a double layer of ribbon thanks to my daughter...I sponged the edges to soften the stark white look. The whipped cream had a shimmer to it, the spoon was done in silver encore ink and I added a sweet crocheted flower that a friend made and sent to me... The sweet little doggie was just too cute... A dollop of sunshine was on the inside...

Time for Tea, Please join me

2012-01-11T15:40:00.000-08:00

   You all know I love hot tea right, yep with milk and sugar...
No I am not English...lol
But it is such a "comforting" drink, it soothes, it calms, it warms me up and it taste so yummy... not to mention it has lots of caffeine .
: )

But this blog post has nothing to do with my tea...
: )

I was recently acquainted with a group of ladies on SCS that hold a "tea party" every week, or is it every day? : ) ,
Either way, they always have a great time.
They are an extremely talented group of super kind and caring ladies... They love to create happy cards, funny cards and some of the prettiest cards that I have ever seen, and then share them with others...
I was the recipient of such a wonderful array of cards, thanks to a very special friend, and then many others joining in...
I cannot tell you how many times I have smiled , or felt special, just by looking at these cards and knowing they were made for me, with a whole lot of love ...
and Simply to wish me a   better year...

This week the recipient is a little guy that could use some smiles, so I am happy to say I was able to join in...   I have 5 beautiful grand children, two of which are young boys, and yep, they leave a soft spot in my heart.. I hear Joshua loves Spongebob along with Legos, this made me giggle , because so does my youngest grandson...

   I printed a picture of Spongebob, it was an image that was shared with me. I created a pocket card using some dp that reminded me of seaweed
( I thought that was appropriate for MR Spongebob LO L )
This way he could just slide the picture out and keep it. We were told we could use Valentines Day as our theme, so I included a few tiny hearts from the SU set called Smitten. Then on the inside I stamped and hand wrote my message ...

I hope Joshua gets a lot of cards and they all make him smile...

2011-12-31T14:33:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well time has come to say good bye to this year.It has been a busy one, some sadness, but blessings to follow in most of it...My year set a pattern for a need of thank you cards, though I do not think I ever created enough.

I designed this card in hope of re creating it in different colors and styles, so far this is the only one I have completed... At this time of year there are 2 words that should be said so often, but it seems they get looked over most of the time these days... I think I will try to make more thank you cards to have on hand, just for all of those little things people do . No matter how small, they still deserve a THANK YOU ...

So to all of you that have been so kind to me this year , this card is for you
: )

I used SU basic gray, with the swirl embossing folder, a scrap of brushed silver by SU once again, and a bow off of a package..yep, I do not throw any thing away ...lol
The stamp is from a SU set named Tagtastic, and I used the scallop punch I just bought from a friend...I love it too... I used Versa Magic Dazzle, then silver Encore ink, and then I heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. And I must say,I think it stepped up the clarity and the shininess.
I added detail, using the same ink and embossing powder inside the card as well as the envelope...

So here is my last post for the year... If you have not read my post from yesterday, please do now... That is my wish for all of you as we bring in the New Year.
Thank you for looking at my blog, and I hope you have seen some thing that you have enjoyed, or maybe even inspired you . And I hope you all come back to see what I can come up with this year... My chair is always waiting for you to come sit and visit ...

So take care, Stay healthy and happy, and enjoy all of your blessings every day ,

Soni B

So the New Year is approaching

2011-12-30T09:55:00.000-08:00

Hello, how is everyone ?? Are you tired from all you have been doing? Or are you still busy trying to get more done? If so please take just a minute to sit with me, and maybe understand my thoughts .

Are you ready to bring in the New Year?? What does that really mean ???

I am not one to make resolutions. It seems I always think I can do more than I actually can. So I have tried to just think of a few smaller things that are reachable...I have plenty in my life that could use some big help. but I have learned baby steps work better for me : )

So this year I want to try to not be so quick to be judge mental, and along with that I want to try each day to live in a better way, by sharing smiles, and love in any way I can, but most of all I want to try to not let anger in. And my biggie is an ongoing struggle I have, to be able to forgive on a better level. These may sound easy, but not really .The last one will be a lot of work.

The main focus in my year is to ENJOY every day, ENJOY all I have , and not wait until tomorrow to do anything I can do today. We really have no guarantees about a tomorrow . This year has taught me a lot... Life happens, and we go on...We miss the ones we have lost, but we still have our life to live . Yes there is sadness, but there is also goodness , in our memories, and our future.

My family is the center of my world, they are my purpose to live each day. So I plan to love each of them, that part is easy. : )
I hope to be able to be there for my family, just as they have been their for me all of this year, and always in the past. My family is not only relation, but an extended group of friends as well. I am blessed with all that I call FAMILY...

My last area I want to do better at is my crafting and my blog... I really love to create, it does not matter if it is cards, scrap book pages, or gifts for others, I truly enjoy just playing with all of my wonderful TOYS... My crafting area is my HAPPY PLACE, and my computer is just a very favorite thing in my life ... So I want to get more organized, better structured and just basically more regular, especially in making and sharing... Learning new things and ways is right up at the top of my list... : )

So as we get ready to bring 2011 to an end, and look back at our year, I hope we all can smile, and know this NEW YEAR is waiting. It has a lot of POTENTIAL , and much HAPPINESS just sitting there .. It is up to us to REACH out, and make ALL we can of what is waiting for us..

I wish you all a WONDERFUL NEW YEAR with BLESSINGS every day.. I think the KEY to this is to be ourselves, LOVE one another and SEE the good around us , and to simply LIVE a GOOD LIFE... Remember to be HAPPY , and SMILE...

So whatever you want to accomplish in this new year, I wish all of you luck... I hope I get to join you as you reach towards your goals, and see any part of it that I can. Sharing is so much FUN .

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hugs to all of you ,
Love Sonja

My belief is GOD gives us so much, what we do with that is our gift back to HIM... So whatever your belief is, just keep on BELIEVING...

It's Christmas Time

2011-12-17T08:36:00.000-08:00

Hi there, how are all of you ? Thanks for stopping in, and I hope you grab that rocking chair and plan to visit a while .
I have not been very good at creating this year, and this season is no different. However, I did get an ounce of "mojo" as they call it and a couple of ideas... So I am here to share them...

First is a remake of a card I designed last year, with a few changes....The card front is embossed with a Cuttle bug embossing folder, and I used Encore silver ink along with a punched snowflake. I cut the fron a little to see the border I put on the inside and I added white card stock inside to put the sentiment on .
And second is a card from our monthly challenge where we receive images and embellishments and create our own idea... I used Versa Mark all over the images and heat embossed with clear embossing powder and I layered cord on a ribbon, very clean lines, pretty simple, but I like the look. My Versa mark pad had a tint of ink and some speckles too, but I thought it looked pretty cool : )
Then the third card is another basic and simple card, made from leftover pieces from a kit I had to make Christmas cards with . I knew I had the sentiment stamp and the idea just fell into place... Again I was happy with it... I guess I should move on with my level of "acceptance " : ) and maybe then my cards would not be so basic, simple and plain...lol
And fourth is my personal favorite . I am known as the SPARKLE LADY to some of my friends, I love sparkles... My daughter Krista was playing around with a new technique that she saw on SCS, and decided to use my Judikins black detailed embossing powder...Yes I know, this is not a very tradition color scheme for a winter card, but it is ever so pretty in real life... A simple snow flake embossing folder, Versa Mark , my Judikins, and a heat gun... And look what she made... I took the card front and turned it into this... Of course she did the bow, any of you that know me, know I just cannot do a bow, and here look what she did, with adding silver cord to black sheer ribbon...I have not added a sentiment, but I am thinking it could be a thank you, or a birthday or anniversary card with just a choice of sentiment...

Well not too bad for not being in the creative mood : )
I think once I took the "need" to make cards out of the picture, and just had fun it was so much easier.... With saying that, most of my friends will not be getting home made cards for CHRISTMAS : ( ...

I sure hope you enjoyed your visit, please come back soon. Maybe next time I will have some fun pictures.I have a very busy December, with birthdays so I might sneak a few pictures in...

I want to wish each of you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS, and a season of love and happiness , May your BLESSINGS be plentiful and shared .

And one final edition for Ali...

2011-12-07T18:40:00.000-08:00

My daughter Krista made her daughter Ali and really cool card...We are all card makers, but some of us just did not get around to making ours : (

I love the added sparkle , STICKLES is such an amazing product !It took this simple layout and turned it into total FUN... Great job Krista...You can see more of her creations here ...http://mypurplepalacetherapy.blogspot.com/

I love this card, Ali's theme was chosen after her colors and designs from her bedroom...Hot Pink, with black and white zebra print. I know when she showed me the bedding last year, I was like OH MY GOODNESS. But that is what she wanted, and she still loves it ! : )

So here is the card, and I hope you have enjoyed these updates.
I love to share my family with all of you....

Please stop in again real soon, I will try to get get something crafty up next .... As Always, thanks for visiting, and Blessing to each of you .

Ali's birthday...second edition

2011-12-05T08:49:00.000-08:00

So here are a few of the pictures from Ali's day. She is just "ALI".
She is a fourteen year old that loves to have fun. She has her grandpas and her mommy's and daddy's sense of humor ,( tho I usually do not laugh...lol ) and loves to share it or display it...
Her Mom made her cake as always, the color is way off here, it is hot pink and black and white zebra print... totally ALI : ) Oh and the hat was a gift she choose on a shopping trip recently for her birthday... Don't you just love it ???? ~

She is full of love and gives her absolute best to everything she does. She is an active sports girl, with softball and volley ball and cheer leading being her favorites, but not the only sports she takes part in... She loves to sing and excels at that too..She loves to bake,and that girl can make fudge : ) , she enjoys reading, and of course painting fancy finger nails... Simply, she enjoys LIFE. And usually without the drama. She believes it is best to be happy and have fun.
She is loved by so many .
God made this ANGEL special, as he did all of my grand children...And I am so proud of each of them.
I say thank you daily for being able to enjoy them, along with their mommies and thank them for sharing my babies ...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALI

Happy Birthday Ali ...

2011-12-04T17:08:00.000-08:00

Today my oldest grand daughter turned 14, geesh, where did those years go??? We decided to go out to breakfast as a family to celebrate. This girl is is a busy busy teenager, so trying to fit a party in this year just was not going to happen, lol
Her and I are going shopping for clothes as her gift from me, so I just bought a card last night at Hallmark...yes I know, SHAME on me... I felt so bad , that I came home and made a gift card for a small gift I gave her tonight as we had cake and ice cream...It was 3 1/2 x 6 inches, and made like a card on a base...I used Judikins detailed black embossing powder and heat embossed the sentiment , it has sparkle and a bit of color specks... Love that stuff : )
Her mom made her a really cool card, and she loved it, so that just added guilt to me... lol I had to make something... : )

We used her bedroom colors and design as a theme for her cake and paper supplies...HOT PINK and BLACK and WHITE ZEBRA print...
Here is her gift card,I will upload some pictures of her cake and card from her mom and her enjoying today and share with all of you soon...Thanks for stopping by, Have a great week...

Christmas

2011-12-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

Again I have not really created for Christmas this year, so I thought I would share some things from the past, I believe I made this two years ago for my youngest daughter, Krista .
We try to make at least one gift for some one..I made another one just like this for a very SPECIAL friend that loves purple too : )

And here is the name frame that Krista made for me the same year. And the last picture is not a very good picture, I apologize, but it is a word frame I made for my oldest daughter, Tammy. She loves snowmen, so I thought she would like this... But I ended up having to make her one just like her sisters...So that was three of those that I made that year : )
: ) Yes my girls are SPOILED, but I would not have it any other way : )
We were so lucky to find the same DP and what ever else we needed...

Those memories are part of what I treasure at Christmas time.
Being with FAMILY is the best gift of all...

I did make one or two new items recently, but they were for a fun exchange with a great group of ladies on Splitcoaststampers, and we have not opened our boxes of goodies yet. So as soon as we do our reveal, I will post those items for all of you top see ...

I hope you are all enjoying this Christmas Season, and thanks so much for stopping by...
I will be waiting for you to stop in again real soon.....

May your Christmas season be BLESSED and full of LOVE and HAPPINESS.... Hugs to all of you

OOPS the first picture ( the winter frame ) is supposed to be the last, and the last one ( Purple Merry Christmas ) is really the first one...geesh, why can I not get this to work right???? Sorry for the technical challenge on my part... * shaking my head...

Thank you

2011-11-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

A super sweet and kind lady Started my day by presenting me with a new blog award...
I was so shocked.....lol
She really has more confidence in me than I deserve in my way of blogging as well as dealing with computer challenges...

Tamra, you are so kind and inspiring, not only in paper crafting but in God's word as well...thank you so much and I am so grateful for joining SCS near 6 years ago . I have met so many wonderful ladies on there ...

So here is my award and I will share it with five women that I think deserve it too as soon as I can learn to link their blogs : ) and share Tamra's blogs with you all too ...

I hope this works, if it does please go check out Tam's blog, she is an amazing lady, full of love and simply an inspiration in so many ways. Her ability to be crafty in so many areas is so encouraging . Plus she is just a delight to know ...

http://apronstringsandholythings.blogspot.com

So here is the NEW Autumn Look

2011-11-16T05:22:00.000-08:00

Well as I promised, here are some new creations, 2 are from our monthly challenge group...
The scarecrow, isn't he just adorable ? , is a WHIFF OF JOY stamp. I colored him with pencils and used a blender pen to smooth and added a piece of fiber to match, then I popped him up with pop dots after I matted him.
And the thank you card I used the embossed strip on the left , that was from the challenge packet as well.And added a tag I picked up at out local scrap booking store, I tried to match the colors and keep it simple . The card base is textured and I rounded the upper corner to follow the lines of the tag.
The autumn scene is a new embossing folder from Sizzix, I love it... I simply added color with sponges and ink...my first attempt was not great, but I hope to try that some more real soon...

So here are just a few, I know they are not in order, my computer just trips me up every time ! LOL . Maybe I can sneak in a couple of more cards this week ... My week end flew by as a rather large deer decided to bump into me...well really he just tried to wipe me out ... So my car has a lot of bumps and bruises issues... : (

As always , thanks for stopping by, I hope you will do that again. I will try to get more fun stuff up just for you : )

Take care, Be careful. and Bless you all .

I Love Autumn

2011-11-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

Well now the colors are really changing, along with the temperatures...
I truly Love Autumn, and usually enjoy making cards that reflect part of the season. I have not made any yet, so I thought I would share some from the years past...And then as I make a few, I will share those and we can all see how my tastes have changed or if there are some things I hang on to ... : )
So I hope you enjoy these cards and will come back to see the new ones... Til then, Autumn Blessings to each of you and maybe you could tell me what you like best about the season of Autumn, and what your favorite technique to use on a card is ...

The first card is Ruby Red and chocolate chip by SU along with a background stamp ... nothing fancy, colored with pencils ...
the second card used an embossing folder and pencils again,
the third card was SIMPLE , just some really pretty dp ,
the fourth card is my favorite, colored pencils and a blender pen plus look close, some sparkle on the pumpkins to look like FROST and some sponging to fill it in a bit : )
and the last one is a 5 x 5 square using more pretty dp, and a leaf cut out and popped up....So nothing too fancy, but they all represent something about Autumn ...

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I am just stopping in to say I hope you all have an awesome day. No matter if you choose to follow the scary mode, or the fun mode of this day, or even if you do not follow the tradition for what ever belief...just know I hope your day is blessed !

The pictures are of something my family did yesterday.
Oct 30 was / is my husbands birthday
( yes I know I am supposed to say "late" husband, but those that knew him, know he was NEVER late and despised those who were ! )

As part of our doing this "together" as we promised, I told our grand children that we would send balloons up to their grandpa, when ever they wanted, so they could send him love... So his birthday seemed a super time to do that. We always celebrated his special day TOGETHER... His family and friends were so important to him...I hope and pray he knows how important he was to each of us, and how very much we love him , and always will .

So another "first" is done, and now on to today...

Happy Halloween

Surprise

2011-10-20T15:17:00.000-07:00

Since my sweet baby grand daughter looks so ready for Halloween, I decided to surprise you all with a recent picture... She sure is a super baby, and gathering love each day from all of us... So now you can go to the update to really see some cards, just thought I would share one of my many blessings

And more Happy Halloween on the way

2011-10-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

Hello, and how are all of you ? I have been playing a bit and enjoying the time in my craft room...so let's get to it
First off, is my glittery spider webs, in real life they are very cool, just love the Judikins detailed black embossing powder, it does amazing things ! The bow was from a piece of left over ribbon and my daughters fingers, lol she does bows so much better than I do : ) thanks Krista : )
And the second one was a super quick and easy card, but I had to try out my new Sizzix die...these ghosts are just too sweet, aren't they?? And the fence was from a new pack of Sizzix embossing folder...
Can you tell I love Sizzix??
Plus I used my Cricut...
Now that is really something for me : )
And the third card is my sweet witch flying by... I was trying to use up more scraps and incorporate something from my challenge packet too, so I used a punch to cut out my witch and added the sheer ribbon and BLING ! I thought this dp was perfect since it was so happy looking ...

So there you have it... I hope to start on a few Autumn cards soon, but I still have some Halloween ideas, so we shall see : )

I hope you all enjoyed what I had to share... and I will look forward to all of you stopping back soon... Thanks for visiting me, I know it is chilly out on my FRONT PORCH , so bring some warm cider or hot cocoa next time ...: )
bye til next time ...

October Challenge Cards

2011-10-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

Back in the early spring, it was time to choose our month in our monthly challenge group.I was excited that I was able to have October, as Autumn is such a wonderful time of year with beautiful colors and great temperatures... So as my year progessed, and was quite busy in un scheduled events, September arrived and my memory jogged . I could not at that time decide if I wanted to use fun Halloween stamps and embellishments or pretty Autumn things. But my group was so understanding that with my grand daughter being born 2 1/2 weeks early, that my envelopes would not be mailed quite as early as I wanted them, that I decided to send a little ( or a lot ) of both just to say thank you .

So in todays up date I am sharing just the first 2 cards of Halloween design that I have finished, these also have the inside decorated just a little... I will try to get busy and create a few more cards and post a few more in the next several days...

So the first card is done with a special friend in mind, She loves Halloween and purple... And we both seem to be called a witchy woo once in a while...The second is one I thought would be good for a child, fairly basic, not overdone...

And big woo hoos to me, I figured out how to move my pictures, though I thought I entered them in the correct order, they sure had a mind of their own ! But ALL is good... there just might be hope for me yet...lol

As always thanks so much for stopping by, and putting up with me... I do enjoy my paper crafting along with seeing who came to visit !... Take care, and I will try to get back here real soon with some more cards to look at...

And Here She Is

2011-10-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, where did all of those days go to?? I have been enjoying watching everyone love my newest grand daughter, and watching her and her mommy , my oldest daughter, get acquainted and settled in. She is so precious, and makes some super cute faces, and some down right funny ones too.
Her big sister thinks she is great and her cousins all just love her...And then there is her Aunt Krista, well she is just totally over the moon about her and she has a few nick names already... like "sweetness" or "sugar love " but her Mommy prefers her to be called FAITH
Here are some pictures just to get that all across : )
I have enjoyed being the one to take these pictures, I have had my moments of holding her and loving her,and there are pictures to prove that : ) but just not on my camera .

Since I cannot figure out how to move the pictures, the first is Cousin Cody then Aunt Krista, then Cousin Dustin. Then Big Sister Brooke, Then cousin Ali then Faith and then Mommy and Faith

I will try to get more pics up soon , we have so many...
Welcome to our family Baby Faith...I am ready to love you and spoil you, grandma Soni

Welcome Baby Faith

2011-09-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

I am here to say I am a very proud and happy Grandma again, My oldest daughter delivered a beautiful baby girl early today... Mommy did an awesome job, and Baby is simply delightful...Both are doing fine
I do not have pics ready to share, but I wanted to share this joyous news... God gives us amazing gifts, and I am so blessed...I am raising up my hands to God to say THANK YOU ....

I hope to be back soon with some pictures, but I have a busy schedule , being a grandma is like that... : )

2011-09-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

BACK TO SCHOOL TIME
It seems school starts earlier every year. My husbands cousin's oldest grand daughter started Kindergaten just a couple of weeks ago, I thought this was perfect to send to her. The image was from a month;y swap I belong to, and it was from CC Designs and the Greeting Farm... the dp was from Me and Mt Big Ideas, school pack...I thought it was so sweet, and just kept it simple... yes I know, simple is what I do...

And the star card is for my grandson,Dustin... he is trying so hard to not only get good grades but to be good in class as well... He is a very busy little guy, and he gets bored and likes to talk or wants to play...being 7 sure is not easy... lol
He has been rewarded with a new Lego set at my house, and since I live right next door now, that is pretty handy . But I still wanted to show him that I am so happy that he is really doing a great job... Of course he just wants more Legos... : )

Hello, time to share...

2011-08-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am not sure where this summer has gone...but I do know it has flown by...With very hot temperatures and lots of things to do ~
As in most cases, I am at the last minute in need of making a card, a very special card to say the least. Sunday we will having a BABY SHOWER for my oldest daughter in waiting of her blessing to arrive. We have been told "It's A GIRL" of course that was after one very successful shopping trip, that turned out to be a return lots of baby clothes day ...lol Tammy and I both were sure it was a little boy... oops, guess that shows you what we know... But we had fun on both of our shopping days, and found some adorable little girl clothes... Some say I bought EVERYTHING in the store, but what is a grandma to do ?? : )
Here is what I created, it is not in her color scheme at all, but I saw the paper and knew exactly what I wanted to do... The baby gown is from a SU set named Buggies ans Booties, I love the old fashion look it gives . The sentiment above the gown is from another SU set named Welcome Little One .
I will be back soon, with pictures from the shower and hopefully more cards...I have missed my play time and I am ready to start having fun again.

As always, I am so happy that you stopped by...and hope to see you here again soon... Take care...

New Look for my crafting time

2011-07-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

My passion in the form of a hobby is scrap booking,I love to scrap pics of my family and remember the good times, It is followed by a close second of card making, I enjoy creating an individual thought to send to a friend or family member to celebrate a special day or as a get well or just thinking of you card.

I have been very fortunate in the past several years to have a designated area for my crafting... It was an enclosed front porch...hence the name of my blog : )
It all started on the dining room table, just like many of you I am sure... Over time I have collected many tools, lots of cool things and the amount of "paper" well we won't go there ...lol I am easily "enabled "

I have recently moved to a new home, and again I am so blessed to have an actual room to create a happy place for me. I have been able to purchase a few new organizational items that I think are awesome and even splurged on some new desks... Oh and check out the valances, are they not simply perfect for a scrap booking or stamping theme... ???

I have always loved black, usually with red added to make a color combo, but turquoise is another choice that suits me ...
I love my new space, tho I have a few more ideas of moving a few things to make it a bit more user friendly... and 2 more items I want to add... Once I get an ink pad holder or system, that will free up my media center to become the new home of my punches : )
I also want to incorporate DAISIES... I am hoping to get some vinyl ones cut to put on my walls...

Here are a few pictures of my room, for those of you that know me,I think you will smile ... I thought I entered them in order of walking through my room, but I see that did not work sorry...
the location may be different, but I am hoping to continue enjoying time in my new Happy Place ...

Soni's Front Porch is place in my heart as well as a name of a room, and it will always be a part of me, as it was given to me by a special friend...Thank you my wonderful friend Sue : )

As always, thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit... I hope to see you visit me again soon : )

2011-07-07T05:24:00.000-07:00

My Front Porch

As some of you know, my stamp and scrap book room was named Soni's Front Porch by a very dear friend. We lived in an old house and had a closed in front porch, it was heated so I could use it year round. We later added our computer, and even my husbands treadmill ( against my liking lol ) and I loved my room.

I had recently bought new white cubes, and other organizational type tools. Then the move came into the picture... I am so blessed to have a full room to set up as my crafting area... I enjoy making cards and my passion is still scrap booking...I have my room set up so I can be working on both crafts... My youngest daughter packed and un packed my room, and my oldest is helping me with ideas...

But for now I thought I would share a picture of my new front porch...
I am currently deciding on a new name for my crafting area, and I will take some pictures of it soon to share...it is a bit messy from playing ... : )
And please check out that door... It was a gift from our niece and sister in law, not only does it look great...but my Daisy Girl can lay and look out side... Yes she is spoiled : ) but even more, she is loved by many...

So til next time, enjoy each day and please stop back real soon...Come sit on my porch with me and enjoy my flowers : )

Time To Move

2011-06-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

Well here I am, and I am going to share a few pictures of Moving Time...
I have been busy, trying to get one house empty and clean, and with a lot of help another one ready to move into, We had a 26 ft U Haul, 3 pickups, a jeep and 3 cars and we still could not get it all lol
Gee I think I have too much stuff ...
And during all of this process , I have been staying with one of our daughters and her family, about an hour away from our house ....
My days have been busy busy busy...
I am blessed to have such a wonderful family and friends to help me through all of this...Moving is never easy...but all of my friends and family sure tried to make it easy on me.
On the up side, I now live next door to our youngest daughter and her hubby and 3 children...and I am closer now to out oldest daughter and her hubby and daughter ( plus our other little one, soon to be )

and now here is my new HOME

2011-05-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry that I have not been here to post or share pictures or cards... We have had a very un exspected and sad event in our family...My husband had been diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis in February, and passed away in early April...So our family will be taking some time to grasp and deal...
Thanks to all that have helped us, with prayers and words...

I hope to try to get back to creating and taking pictures to share, but it will be a little while longer... Thanks for stopping in, I hope you will stop back again...

Til next time, Smile as often as you can, Show those you love how much you love them daily...Every day is truly important...Life can be short...

2011-04-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

Time to celebrate !

Our youngest grand daughter turned 12 on the 29 th of March, and she ALWAYS has a birthday party at our house...this is HER choice. So this year we had to wait until the weekend after her actual birthday. She decided she wanted just family this year. So her Aunt Krista and Uncle Keith brought her cousins up after their soccer games on Saturday
Her theme this year was LIME GREEN, and that included a Lime green pair of Converse tennis shoes on her cake, which her Aunt Krista made...OF COURSE...lol Brooke decorated with Lime Green streamers around the house and had her table all set with lime green paper supplies too...

We played games from Minute To Win It, that was great fun... lots of laughs all around... We ordered supper from our favorite pizza place right here in town, and it was delicious as always...

The only part that was not based on Lime Green was her present from her Aunt Krista, which was Cardinal Baseball pajama pants... and her Volley ball net from her Mom and her "jimmy" who is the best step daddy she could have ! yep he spoils her !

Brooke bought me a frame that says " It Happens At Grandmas House" so am hoping to put this picture of her and I in that frame , or maybe the one of her sitting with her gifts...

It was a great time, she loves her cousins so much and We are so blessed to have a family that ALWAYS shares these days with us !...

2011-03-12T05:30:00.000-08:00

Good Morning, So how are you today?? Yesterday was a beautiful day, full of sunshine.It even encouraged me to get out here and make a couple of cards. I was too tired to try any thing new, or think about putting pieces of a challenge together, so I pulled out my favorite set, and used one of my favorite layouts...lol yep that is cheating ! But I did follow that up with something different, and I thought it was quite pretty...
One is a birthday card I need for today, nothing like waiting until the last minute...That one I used Razzleberry card stock and ink from SU with a strip of ivory that had been ran through my big shot, I LOVE my new TOY : ) and I added a punched out tag for the sentiment !
and the other , well I am not sure what I will use it for, a thinking of you, a get well, or maybe just a HELLO...It is one of my favorite layouts, I used blue bayou with dp to match all from SUI will add a sentiment later

The day before yesterday I was able to play out here with a dear friend , we made several cards, to her liking, but I forgot to take pics...lol
I wonder if I can try to create again today and make it 3 days in a row???

thanks for stopping in, and I hope you will stop back soon...

2011-03-11T20:31:00.001-08:00

A really good friend of mine shared Proverbs 31 Ministies with me a while back...... I love to read,and do studies on my own. There are so many good books made available by these awesome women . They all have blogs, and they each deal with different topics , but together they are a wonderful group... I love the daily devotionals, but enjoy just popping onto their blogs occassionally too...I hope you check them out !

Happiness

2011-03-04T14:04:00.000-08:00

Hello, I took some time today to PLAY...I had recently commented on a card in a gallery over at SCS...I loved the main focus stamp, when I inquired about it, I was told which company it was from. I looked but could not find it so I inquired again. The lady was so sweet and kind, she offered images, and a few days later I was so excited to receive an envelope from her...As I opened it, I was even more surprised, she had sent me the stamp !. Wow, how very kind ...
I love the stamp, words about happiness, with hearts but the design was just different... Her card was so origional, and put together so well... I hope to share it later, I am waiting for her permission since she is on a design team... So day you get to see my first attempt at using that stamp, I included a new set from SU that I have had for almost a year... I know SHAME ON ME : )
I hope you like it, I used a linen background stamp, and then tone on tone flowers , added some ribbon and some bling... It made me smile, so I hope it makes you smile too... Thanks for stopping in, I will see you all soon...

Having Fun With Winter Blues !

2011-02-25T18:47:00.000-08:00

Well hello again... I thought before this month slipped on by, that I would get another post on here !
We just had a Secret Sister like exchange on a thread over at SCS..there is a group of us ladies that check in daily and share most anything and everything... So a few times a year we like to do these...This one was titled THE BLUES
We each had to create an altered item , as well as follow a guideline of ten ideas related to BLUE... there was anything from Blues Clues to Winter Blues with a lot of other fun things in between... We could make some thing, buy something , or Stamp some thing... The gal that was sending to me sent a lot of images, and dp as well as cute and fun things too, a blue berry candle and a blue jean pocket full of hot cocoa mixes... And she created a journal type book with a matching pen and then a decorated tin to match ! Wowzers, it is so pretty I cannot wait to find a perfect place in my craft room to display it , it is too pretty to use...lol But I will break down put them to use... Here are pictures of all of my goodies and the journal and tin !
Aren't the simply gorgeous ?
Thanks to Debby for spoiling me with such great gifts and ideas , and to Shell for the fun , she did a great job in planning this and getting us to our reveal date...I wonder when our next one will be ?

Thanks for stopping by, I hope to get busy creating so I have something to share with all of you real soon,
Til then,Goodbye, and Take Care.

Where did this month go?

2011-02-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

Well hi again, I am just not sure where this month has gone... I have been busy with a new journey in our lives, so not a lot of crafting going on... but I did do one Challenge card, and though it is simple I thought it turned out cute...the owls were in our packet from our monthly challenge, along with some other cool stuff...this card is as far as I got !

All SU products, simple placement... I did add on the inside "Sending twice as many many hellos, because you are twice as nice ... " or some thing along those lines. lol I mailed this to a very special friend who just had surgery and will be off from work for a while !

I will share some goodies from a QSS exchange that us QUACKERS from SCS just did in a day or so... til then... Bye
I hope you are all warm and safe...I hear we are under a winter storm warning again, with the possibility of 5 - 8 inches of snow after some rain...ugh Will this winter ever end ???

Winter Storm February 2011

2011-02-02T14:24:00.001-08:00

Brrrr...Winter Storm

I guess this storm is affecting many states, the last I heard was 36 states... There was a possibility of up to 24 actual inches of snow... and drifts up to 6 to 10 feet...
We live in a small town of 1100, our city guys worked hard through the night to get and keep our city streets clean and clear... With winds up to 65 MPH that was not an easy task. I hear that all roads leading out of town are closed, as are the highways and expressways near by...
I shoveled a path, yep it was quite crooked...that is why my husband will not let me mow ...lol
I took a few pictures of our yard and near by...I hope to be able to get more later...I do not think the snow is going any where any time soon...lol

I hope you are safe, warm and have power and food where ever you are... Thanks for stopping in...

Winter Tim Treat

2011-01-24T07:27:00.000-08:00

Isn't this little guy just too cute? A friend of my oldest daughters, ( and mine too ) saw these made with the smaller size candy bars, but she decided to make them on full sized chocolate bars.She saw the idea at a craft sale.
I think it is an awesome idea, just a perfect treat for a paper boy, or an add on to any gift , a stocking stuffer or a just because pick me up. She used white wrapping paper or card stock, ribbon for the bow...a scrap of material for the hat and drew on the face using markers... But we each could tweak this to to our own style, and I would love to see your take on these...
With Valentines day coming up, I bet this would make a super SWEET gift !... Especially for those of us with SNOW still on the ground...

So if you decide to give these a try, please share your design with me...I cannot wait to see all of the different ideas. I hope you liked what you saw here today, thanks so much for stopping in... and I hope to see you again soon...
Have a super day !

2011-01-22T06:33:00.001-08:00

What a SURPRISE...

My friend Kelly was given this award by a friend that has a great blog, Carla... So in sharing her experience with us, she decided to give this award to a few of her friends,. One I know, and Shell is full of creative energy... I love her blog...I checked out the others Kelly shared with, and found new blogs to follow.They were all quite deserving of this award...Each has a very different style in creating, some in photography as well...Even their blogs style is different...
I am just not sure why she chose me?? LOL I mean SIMPLE is not a STYLE...it is a lame excuse for trying... did I get a giggle on that?? I always complain that my work in card making is way too SIMPLE...

Kelly, thanks for sharing this award with me, and yes it is ALL your fault my dear friend...I was invited to an SU workshop at her home nearly 8 years ago, my words were..." Oh that is just too much work, I am never going to stamp ! " " And the money , it would just cost way too much money " Well you should see my stamps, and all of my toys to go with them...not to mention card stock...it has all taken over my scrap booking area... and that is my true passion...

Well as always, thanks for stopping by, I hope I made you smile or giggle...and I am sorry that I do not do well with links, as Kel and I say, I am still in "training pants" when it comes to all of this...but I am learning and achieving...SLOWLY... I wish I could give you links to the other Blogs, I enjoyed them all ...I will work on that !

Til your next visit, Bye Bye

Time to get busy scrapping, again

2011-01-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

Well, Hello, I guess this is my first post of 2011, geesh ! I sure am sorry.
I do not like to make New Years Resolutions, instead I try to set goals that
I want and in reality, that I can reach. One of the goals this year is to
really get back into my scrap booking...I have 4 beautiful grand children, and many baskets of pictures, and a room full of paper, embellishments and everything I need...So what am I waiting for??

Todays pictures are of a 2 page lay out that I just worked on...it needs the year added to the tag on the right hand page ( I sure hope I up load these in the right order...if not, BIG CATCH should be on the right !... You all know me and my computer abilities, or lack there of !

This is my grand daughter BROOKE back several years ago... Isn't this a fun photo shoot... I thought this basic grey dp and letters were just perfect in color...
and this fiber , well I really liked how it added a bit of fun to the page...

Thanks for stopping in, I hope you can stop in again soon, and that I can have more postings to give you all some thing to look at ... Til the next time, Have a great day !

Time To Say Thank You

2010-12-27T18:55:00.000-08:00

Well I am not sure where this month has gone, but I do know it sure was a busy one. I hope you enjoyed all of the wonderful season, and took some time for yourself... That is what I did tonight.
My husband received some super gifts from teachers and others at school this year and we also received some wonderful gifts from family and friends, so I knew that I needed to start working on some special thank you cards. My first batch is basic and simple...just my style. However I was able to use up some pre punched snowflakes and some card fronts that had been pre cut and embossed...so, there is nothing wrong with that. : )

I am hoping to try again tomorrow and add a bit of flair to the next few ...
It seems when I use snowflakes, I usually use blue or red. I want to try to change that too... The red card is embossed with a snowflake folder, it shows up better on the white piece of card stock on the blue base . The other blue one could be used as a note card as is, or changed to a thinking of you or thank you by adding a simple sentiment of choice.

I hope to be back soon. This week is much more calm than the last few have been...
I know I have birthday pictures to share and some Christmas ones as well... So I hope you will stop back soon...
Thank you for coming by...
See you soon...

2010-12-06T12:42:00.000-08:00

Hello, I thought I would stop in with a couple of more cards...The Christmas card is a copy of many cards I have seen using a tree stamp to make branches,I used a tree from SU's Lovely as a tree set. It is an easy design to use for mass production and can have detail added or left as is. Personally, I love the look of this ribbon with the natural color card stock and the ribbon is from SU again. It was available last year... The birthday card is another winter design. I received this image from a friend in an image swap and knew immediately what I wanted to create with it. I used a product to look like real snow on the muff and hat...
Thanks for looking, and I hope you are taking time to enjoy the season.

Winter Birthdays

2010-12-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

It seems that December is a big birthday month in our family, so I am busy trying to get those cards made... One might think that I could have those made ahead of time, but then if you know me, you know that probably is not the case...lol
I have made 2, one for a sister in law and one for a niece...I used the same stamps but different ideas and different colors. I love the color Baha and I really like how the DP I used and the lace give this a bit of an old fashion look .
The other card is made using red riding hood, and DP by SU again... fairly plain but some sheer ribbon to dress it up a bit...

I am off to work on A grand daughters, a daughter and a grand sons card...I will post them when I get them all finished, til then, I hope you are enjoying this holiday season and thanks for stopping in again...

2010-11-26T17:28:00.000-08:00

Well I made it back a little faster this time...lol
Here is a re make of the long blue non traditional colors card...I decided it needed a bit of something, it was too plain for even me... : )
And I made another one using up another left over piece and some dp by SU along with using some ribbon from SU, in an in color from last year, Red Riding Hood ...though the scan is showing it all crazy, it is simply a shade of red solid ribbon... and my newest punch that I just love...
I still have not decided on a layout or color for this years design, but at least I am playing again... Thanks for stopping by... I hope to have more soon so you can visit me again... Enjoy the season, ALL of it !~

2010-11-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

Hello, has it really been three weeks since I was here?? Sorry about that... I was thinking today that I really need to be busy on my Christmas cards, so I opened up THAT box and started looking through it. I seem to have many odds and ends and left over pieces, so I started playing around.. Both of these will fall into the Non Traditional colors for a Christmas card, but clean lines and super easy. And that was perfect for a day of just not feeling well or having any "mojo"...The blue one is a 7 1/2 in by 3 3/4 inch card the other is regular size at 5 1/2 inch by 4 1/4 inches.
I warned you, these are super plain and simple...near the blah state... But hey, I stopped in and maybe I will get into the mood this way. I hope to find some real creativity and come back to share something fabulous...lol.
Until then, I hope you are having a good day and enjoying the season... As always, Thanks for stopping by, come back when you can sit and visit ...

WE ARE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD

2010-11-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

My friend owns a fabulous gift shoope here in town. I get to help her there any time I want to...it is just like playing to me, I love being at her store... Any way, she wanted to host an event for Halloween, and call it WITCHES NIGHT OUT.So a few of us offered to help her, and the plans began... One of the ladies helping came up with the idea that we should all dress up in the Wizard of OZ costumes, and if you know me, I usually have my little dog with me.So guess which character I got to be?? Yep, Dorothy. So with help of my daughters, and husband, and the sewing expertise of my sister in law... I was transformed into Dorothy for the night.My daughter Krista, was Glenda, and my oldest grand daughter was a Flying Monkey...and she was fabulous, stealing ToTo and all... L O L

We had a fantastic time, along with many others. Everyone enjoyed themselves. There was a costume contest, BOO LIGHT specials, discounts, in store specials and refreshments of every kind... The cake was designed and made by my youngest daughter, Krista, and pumpkin bars by our scarecrow , punch and finger goodies were plentiful too along with a scary punch !

So here are some pictures of the night...hope you enjoy them...I know we all totally enjoyed our selves...

Painting Class

2010-10-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed the third year of my painting classes so much. Each year I learn a little more and have more fun than I ever thought I could...We have a super lady that encourages us, spoils us and laughs right along with us. This year she really went out of her way to reach out and explore new ideas with us and for us. Even though our classes end in September, due to her needing time to get ready for her craft shows, she offered us special class one night class in October, but that took some of us 2 nights...lol
I loved this idea from the day I saw it...and encouraged her to teach this class... Again each of our finished project is different from any one else's...but then in art, don't we all usually SEE things through different eyes ? ...

Mine is not exactly as I had visioned it, but I am happy with it...though I already see things that I wish I had done differently...
Again, thank you Lisa for all you teach us, and all you share with us... You are truly an amazing lady...

2010-10-18T07:12:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend we had some family pictures taken by a friend...We wanted some out door shots and just casual fun ones too...We ended the day with a wiener roast with family and friends... It was a beautiful day to do this, and we all had a great time... Here are pictures from some of us there...These are just our immediate family, I will share more later of other family and friends... I just need to upload some from my camera too...
I hope you enjoy looking at these as much as we enjoyed having them taken. The kids were all good, no complaining at all, and they even did some candid posing of their own ideas and choice... It was a totally wonderful day and we cannot thank our friend enough for helping is out... She took some simply awesome pictures that day.

2010-09-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

I thought that I would post a few more projects from my Tueday night GIRLS NIGHT OUT PAINT CLASS. So here are three more and then I need to take pictures of the last three... I like the last two, but the shutter just is not one I really like... However, it was a different texture painting on wood, and the slats made it a challenge to try to line up... Plus we had to totally do it free hand, with NO pattern...

The bucket was a glossy finish, so that was a different type of finish to paint on for us, and the bowl with the witch and pumpkins had a slightly rough almost grooved texture...so it was a bit of a challenge as well...
I have really enjoyed learning to paint and the time with these ladies, we ALWAYS have FUN... Our teacher is so creative and comes up with some really awesome ideas...

2010-09-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

Well I have one more ball player to share with all of you.. This is Brooke and this was her first year to try softball. She is on a good young girls team, and the girls have enjoyed the season. It has been a great experience for her, she has learned a lot and found a new way to have fun. We were happy to be able to go watch even just a few of her games, and here are some pictures from the games we were able to go to. At some of the games we were so hot, and one were were all quite chilly, I had to wrap a beach towel around me to stay warm...Since I forgot to grab a sweatshirt or jacket...
Good Season Girls...

Soon it will be time for Soccer... : )

August Challenge

2010-08-24T05:19:00.000-07:00

I am late into the month again working on my challenge, but I did get three cards made with enough supplies left to do one or two more.
It was using stamps from Clear Dollar Stamps, the lady that sent out this challenge is on the design team for them this month... She choose to use an Autumn theme which went with her images very nicely... I added some patterned paper I had and created a different look for me... I was happy with what I created... still on a simple streak...but it if works, go with it ! LOL The first 2 cards I simply used some patterned paper I had as the background, I thought it worked well with these images, and the third card I used a texture plate on a retired in color from SU, it was called Buckaroo Blue. The strip of paper with the trees has a touch of sparkle or sheen to it, and that adds a touch of dimension to the card I think...
I would love to hear your thoughts...
AND AS ALWAYS, THANKS FOR STOPPING BY...
HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR VISIT.

2010-07-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

I have a good friend down in Missouri, She called yesterday with a request for a sympathy card...Yes she is a paper crafter too...but this was for a special young girl and she wanted many to go out to her..
I usually struggle with sympathy cards, but this one went together nicely...not sure why, maybe because I did not know the person It would go to. What ever the reason, I liked it and thought I'd share it with you. I used a retired color from SU named Blue Bayou, and SU ink, Soft Sky , it is retired too...the lighter color is from a K&Co mat pack, and it is lightly textured.
I dressed it up a bit with pearl dew drops and then I used the ticket corner punch for a different edge... The design was one I copied down yesterday from "some where" sorry I do not remember where ..
Thanks for stopping in ,
and I hope you enjoyed your visit to MY FRONT PORCH
Soni

2010-07-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

And back to my grand children... # 3 of Krista's children is Dustin, he is 6 and in his second year of T Ball...At this age it is so hard for them to really pay attention for very long. But I have to tell you, that they are so much fun...there is always some thing to make us a smile, if not totally crack up laughing. They forget to run after they hit the ball, or run the wrong way; or the are playing in the dirt in the out field in stead of catching the ball, or they might just visit with their friends !... but it is too funny !... They look so cute in their uniforms, and know they need a Gatorade...
I hope you enjoy looking at these pictures...I know they sure give me a lot of pleasure each time I look at them...

2010-07-14T07:56:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of my grandsons...It was Fathers Day of this year , we met up with both of our daughters for ice cream... Can you tell there is a little rivalry with these little guys?? Daisy is always included in more ways than one...LOL

and then a picture of Wally with his girls...And one with Krista's children...

2010-07-12T05:43:00.000-07:00

Hello, I am just stopping in to let you know about a blog I found...She has a fabulous give a way going on and is being sponsored by OH MY CRAFTS ...how cool is that!I hope you will pop over to check it out... and let me know what you think... Have a great Monday...

http://turnedgypsy.blogspot.com/

2010-07-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

And next will be my oldest grandson Cody... This is his second year in the actual Pee Wee Ball league. He played
T Ball before. This year he is playing catcher position for the first time, as well as a few other positions in the field... I think he wants to learn to pitch... His dad Keith, bought him a bucket of balls and is working with him. He is learning a lot and doing a great job too ! He loves to play, and can "smack" a ball as he would say !
: )

We enjoy watching him, but his games are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and those are not easy nights for us to get away... : ( We are proud of Cody, and we think he is doing great ! Good Luck Cody, Keep up the good work... Grandma Soni and Grandpa Wally love you...

Did I mention just how handsome he is ??

2010-06-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

Summer means time to play BALL...
well for three of our grandchildren anyway...
Ali has played since she was 5, I think... She started in T Ball and has continued on to girls softball and is now 12 years old.
And she now loves it even more. She is an awesome pitcher, but enjoys playing third base too, she is a good hitter and loves to show the other team what she is capable of... and has a great deal of team support in her... These pictures show her enjoying it all.Yes we are proud grandparents...We try to go watch as often as we can...which is just not enough...It was easier when it was only her, but now both of her younger brothers play as well.Ali has 2 games a week. Cody has 2 games a week and Dustin is happy with his 1 game a week...

2010-06-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

Wow, June is half over already...I hope to post some pictures from my grand childrens ball games soon, but for today I have another project to share from OUR GIRLS NIGHT OUT .

Each section has a different design of a birdhouse painted, and it has a lot of Red White and Blue...so it could be used for the 4 th of July... I thought as either a silver ware holder or sugar packets. Some will plant small flowers in it, or use it as a little catch all ...

This was an easy project... :)
I think it is cute...
Thanks for looking and I hope to see you back soon...

2010-06-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

I am still way to far behind in my scrap booking. As I pulled these pictures , I realized just how far...these are from
FATHER'S DAY 2004...
YIKES ! Will I ever get caught up?? I love to scrap, and relive my days with my family...
So even if I stay behind, my albums are still a true treasure to me...and I hope I always have the same passion for scrapping as I have for 10 years !...

I hope you enjoy looking, I took a newer thought~ the scalloped circle paper~ and used it with pictures from to 6 years ago...then, I computer generated my words, and used simple matting techniques and layering of punches to show case the words. I love polka dots, and I love SIMPLE... so yes, this is pretty much ME... lol
Thanks for stopping in, I hope you come back real soon...

2010-06-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to June
I know summer does not officially start until later this month, but I am so ready .
Here is our latest project from our GIRLS NIGHT OUT. We painted this UNCLE SAM on a paver,( edging stone ) . Some of us choose the darker, more Americana tone, and some choose a more bright read and white.
This was a fairly easy item to paint, other than we had to "freehand" or "eye ball " (painting lingo ) everything, as the concrete did not allow us to trace the pattern on it at all.
And of course it was another fun night, filled with good stories, laughter, and yummy desert ! It is a great way to get away and relax.
Who knew a paint class could be so much FUN !

2010-05-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

I found the picture of the other side of the fan blade that we did earlier this year... It was definitely a challenge, which surprised me. It looked to be easy as far as I was concerned !... We did some free hand work on this, and that is not my best talent...lol
But as always, we had fun, leaned some thing new, had yummy treats and it was a good experience... I totally enjoy our GIRLS NIGHT OUT...PAINT CLASS.

2010-05-26T05:21:00.000-07:00

As we approach the end of May I thought I would show you another GIRLS NIGHT OUT paint class project. It is definitely for summer time. This was a more detailed class, and we used a couple of new products and we each reached a different destination on these!...I still see many flaws, and I struggled to do this one...though it was one I really wanted to do. If you saw the my fan blade that had the sprinkle can and bird house on it, this is on the flip side. That is great, this way we get two totally different seasons of use from it !...
Hope you enjoyed looking and as always, THANKS for stopping in... I hope you all are getting to sit and enjoy these beautiful day that we are having!...if not Please come sit with me !

2010-05-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday...Happy Spring
I decided to post a card today .In our monthly challenge that I told you about previously, we receive images and different things to create a card or two or three !.
I used just the one image of the skunk, colored it in with SU markers added some black embossing on the skunk and then some puff to the center of the flowers ... and I decided to do a tone on tone card...there is a layer embossed with tiny flowers ( by Sizzix ) and the only other layer is a simple black mat to help show off the detail on the shunk...
Still a simple look, but adding a touch of detail... I hope you all take time to smell the flowers !...

2010-05-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I had not shared my last paint class project with you. We have a girls night out once a week on Tuesdays. My friend owns a craft store that is a gift shoppe...and is a truly amazing store. So we all gather for a night of fun, laughter and yummy treats, and then we get to try our hand at painting. We have painted on several different items. This was a small star, maybe 5 inches or so...and we had to free hand most of the detail. Lisa always has one of the items completed so we can visualize what our finished project should look like. With our abilities and our likes all being different, it is fun to see how different they each turn out. We always have a great time and the conversations are always good for a laugh or two..It is a perfect way to relax, get away, and learn something new... Thanks you Lisa for being so good to all of us...

2010-05-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

Mothers Day is a special Day, for me, because I am the Mother of two beautiful daughters.They are both wonderful "mommies" and I am so proud of them, and they have given me 4 awesome grand children too !
We try to spend Mother's Day together, or at least a part of it.
We are planning to meet at the park for a picnic tomorrow and celebrate our day together while all of the kids can play and have fun !..
Here are the cards I made for them, one loves yellow, one loves purple !... I hope they like them...

Happy Mothers Day to all of You

2010-05-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

Scrap Booking is my true passion, I have been scrapping for 10 years. I love to do pages of my grandchildren, so I do one album a year of them in chronological order. I am still way behind, but that is alright, I love looking at the pictures and seeing how they have changed.

This was a day at the park, called OLD Fashion Sunday In The Park,it was located in Peoria Illinois, and it had things from days of long ago...carriage rides, unicyclists, old time ball game, clowns, crafts and snacks... just a FUN day with my oldest daughter and grand daughter ...

I finally took pictures of some of my pages.So I hope to share some once in a while... This page is total simplicity, but I liked how it turned out... My style of scrapping depends a lot of the mood I am in when I am scrapping, lol

I hope you like this, and thanks for stopping in.

2010-05-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

CHALLENGES
I guess it is time to get back to sharing some of my creations with cards... We have a monthly challenge that we share among 12 ladies.Each month we all receive a packet with the same supplies, the object is to see how different our creations are. And sometimes to see just how many cards we can get out of the supplies !...
April was the last month in the current group, but we have another year lined up. These two cards were made from the April packet, plus we can add anything we have that coordinates !.I did one non traditional graduation card and one for Mother's Day... I added dew drops on one and ribbon on the other one... Hope you like them...

Daisy Girl

2010-04-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Hello, gosh it has been a while since I was here to visit and share with all of you... how about a picture of my sweet little doggie DAISY... We were visiting my friend Lisa at her store, and Daisy found her favorite spot...under the sky light , enjoying the sunshine...

Painting class

2010-04-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

We had our first painting class of the season, at my friends gift shoppe last night... It was a fun night and we completed an awesome project...It is a replica of a window blind that had words already printed on it, then we added the flowers, vines and lady bugs... I really love it, tho my painting still leaves a lot to be desired... but I enjoy going to class and accomplishing any and all that I do... We have a great group of ladies and our teacher is simply wonderful, full of great ideas, and makes it all look so easy...

2010-03-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

My daughters, Tammy and Krista and their daughters Ali and Brooke and I went to Chicago on Saturday. we were celebrating Brooke's birthday a little early.
We had such a wonderful day, full of happiness and laughter.The train ride up was good, even tho we had to be up quite early, the girls were really on their best behavior. and the train ride home was fun...we met a little toddler that was so cute.
Our time at the store was enjoyable, the girls took their dolls to have their hair done and shopped for a new doll and lots of clothes for them.I even shopped for my MOLLY doll, so now she has some jammies and a cute play outfit .This was my third trip up there , and each has been a truly special experience, I am hoping we can do this as many more times as the girls want to...

Brooke's Birthday

2010-03-18T18:18:00.000-07:00

My youngest grand daughter, Brooke, will be 11 on March 29 th.We are celebrating her birthday this weekend by having her party at our house, which is Grandma Soni's house, and that is her favorite place to hold her party. And her Aunt Krista will be making her cake as requested. Brooke choose a Peace Sign theme this year and designed her own cake. We will also be going to our favorite Pizza Parlor for supper .
But the big fun will be on Saturday, Her Mommy , her Aunt Krista, her cousin Ali, myself and Brooke will be taking the train to Chicago, so we can shop at THE AMERICAN GIRL DOLL STORE.
I decided on a different size and shape for her card, it is 6 1/2 inches by 6 3/4 inches before folding in half... I used pre cut deco squares, on a pixie pink card base, then stamped in pixie pink and mounted those on pixie pink squares, I added a touch of bling , because a girl just has to have bling !

Birthday in Flight

2010-03-08T12:24:00.000-08:00

I have a special sister in law that will be celebrating her birthday soon...I wanted a card that was a bit different from any thing I have made her in the past. I knew colors were right, so after playing I decided on the same design as my thank you card I have posted and then adding white pearlized dew drops for a touch of class, as she is a lady of total class...
I used a sage green card base, with DP by SU and the butterfly is cut out of sage green with a cuttle bug die and embossed with a folder that is in that set .I used blue bayou ink...
Hope you like it, and thanks for stopping in...

2010-02-24T05:43:00.000-08:00

I needed a thank you card for a special friend, so I used the same design I had just used over the week end at our swap . I added some feminine touches and used colors she likes...I sure hope she likes it, I do.
The card base is river rock, with not quite navy and dp all by SU, I used SU's scalopped oval and large oval punches, and pop dots for the oval...the stamp belongs to a SU set as well.the butterfly was cut with a cuttle bug die and embossed with a one of the folders that came with the set

I am off to run errands today, in a morning of snow falling...it looks so pretty, I hope it does not create any problems for me along the way !...

I hope you all have a great day, and thanks for stopping in again.

My card from the masculine swap

2010-02-22T11:50:00.000-08:00

As I said I would show you my card for the swap, here it is. We had a great time and the cards were all awesome...they had great colors, wonderful designs and ideas ... hope we can do another swap soon... I need to upload all of the cards, and when I get that done I will post some of them and give credit to who deserves it ... My oldest daughter and I both prefer this card with out the sentiment in the upper left corner, what do you think?

2010-02-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like another busy weekend for us. We will start it off with a tournament basketball game for our oldest grandson, Cody tonight. Then depending on the out come of the game we will be at another game tomorrow .
On Sunday, I will be at a card swap set up by a good friend of the family, Sue A ...Both of my girls, Tammy and Krista and both grand daughters Ali and Brooke were invited to join. So that will be the third busy day , and I am sure it will be full of fun and great ideas.
I will post my card for the swap and maybe some of the others ones the first part of next week.
So til then, I hope you all have a great week end... I sure plan to.
Thanks for stopping in...

2010-02-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day...

Here is a card that I "remade" I started with a card that my youngest daughter designed her first year as being a SU demo. It really is straight, honest... but my scanner has a mind of it's own. I liked the main image, but I thought this paper worked well with it, so I simply, and I do mean very simply, changed her card a bit... I liked the clean lines, and the simple look... thanks for looking and I hope your day is full of love...

Hi, let me introduce myself...

2010-02-09T10:53:00.000-08:00

Hello, I am a stay at home wife, married to a great guy for 30 plus years...I have 2 grown and beautiful daughters,and between them,they have blessed me with 4 wonderful grand children. My days are spent playing with my Shih Tzu named Daisy , playing in my craft room that was name "Soni's Front Porch" by a dear friend.
It is an enclosed front porch that we have turned into a craft / computer room and now have added a tread mill, so it is a busy place.
I have wanted to be able to share pictures of my family and creative work for some time now, and my friends thought I should have a blog...So here I am.I hope to be able to say hello, share more about my family and my life and even show some of my creative ideas...
I hope to post a card or two soon and maybe some pictures so you can see who we all are...

Have a great day now, I am off to look for some sun shine...

2010-02-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Soni's front porch! Please bear with me as I get this up and running. :)

Soni B