Saturday, August 30, 2008

Kids' Challenge Blog and Great Blog Candy!

This is the cutest kids' challenge blog. My little ones may have to join in! Check out the work of these "Crafty Monkeys"!!
Also, Zoe from Crafty Monkeys is offering some fabulous blog candy here!
Zoe's Card Creations
And there is another great opportunity here at inky and scrappy

Friday, August 29, 2008

Friday Sketchers #17

I made this today following the sketch of the week on the Friday Sketchers blog. Don't know if I will submit it....since this will be my first time doing this, I don't know what the rules are....I see that everyone uses cute characters on their sketches - is that a requirement (using a character stamp)? Regardless, I made this anyways......I won't use it for a card - it will go on a layout with pictures of my daughter wearing her pink Osh Kosh overalls so I used an Osh Kosh button on the flower.

(Also, check out Joey's very cute card for this challenge. I love the pink and yellow flowers!)

I used paper from the Close To My Heart Boom-Di-Ada paper pack, other CTMH products used: postmarked stamp, waxy flax, my accessories (colonial white), clear inspirations..., and beads from one of the girls' broken bracelets!

Have a Happy Labor Day Weekend!!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Blog Candy List...

Because of all the wonderful blog candy out there I posted a list on the right hand side of the blog. New additions are:

SNS Memories, The Stamping Queen, Creating with Chrissy, KreativKristin, Jessis Creativ Blog,
Hilmarose, Cats & Stitching

Fun, fun, fun!

Life's Little Pleasures....

S'mores taste even better at the beach!!






And More!

Sally has such a cute site and her work is sooo good!
She's offering some really great blog candy as her blog is up to 10,000 hits - I can see why! You have until September 7th to get in on the fun! (and be sure to keep her family in your prayers as her husband is in Afghanistan)

More Blog Candy!

Eventually I will win something! :)
In the meantime, I am having great fun visiting all the terrific blogs! Like, Caroline's! And she has some great blog candy being offered too! You have until September 1st!

Last Night's Card

I stayed up last night to finally do something with the paper I had been wanting to use, the CTMH Boom-Di-Ada. Love the paper! Not sure what I think about the card yet :) But I had a good time making it!
Paper from CTMH Boom-Di-Ada level 2 paper pack, CTMH organdy ribbon/autumn harvest & striped from chocolate collection, CTMH "My Accents" eyelets & spiral clip in colonial white, CTMH Cottage Floral Stamp Set, used CTMH Liquid Glass on stamped flowers and leaves.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Don't want to miss this blog candy!

One of my SBS23 sisters, Dawn, has posted some amazing blog candy! There is a catch....you have to guess how many ribbons are in her caddy and share one of your favorite storage solutions - so it makes it fun too! Get over there before Aug 30 or you'll be too late!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

More Thoughts on Forgiveness

If you are not interested in this subject, please bear with me - or feel free to ignore me :)

I see forgiveness as an act of obedience rather than something we obtain - where once we “get it” (the ability to forgive a person) in a certain situation, we are done with it. Forgiveness is a choice (sometimes a daily one!) Obviously, we do not forget the wrong done– (which is many times a good thing because the knowledge offers us assistance in making future decisions.) On the other hand, when we are hurt deeply, and at times we don't forgive, it can be a constant thorn in our side – with recurring thoughts leading to anxiety, sleepless nights, headaches, depression, drinking/drugs, worry, and the list goes on because if there is a situation to forgive, odds are there are a lot of ramifications attached to the wrongs done and they affect other areas of our lives.

In my own personal life, even once I have forgiven a person or people, I can easily let the situation creep back into my thoughts and if I run with those thoughts I can find myself fuming (or crying) once again. I would hesitate to say that I did not really forgive the person, but that the wound is still open, or has been re-opened and it hurts. What I am responsible for is how I deal with the situation when it comes to mind again. For my own good and because it is the right thing to do, I need to be aware of where I am headed mentally and take action. SO easier said than done. I can choose to think about something else (which is hard for me because I am a thinker and I can pick a topic and think it to death!) or choose an activity I know will occupy my thoughts. For me, some situations are so raw at different times, that the only way I can keep my thoughts, emotions (and connected physical state) under control is by praying and telling God I need help getting my thoughts under control (fact is, I always need help, but sometimes the need is so obvious I actually admit it!), or I grab my Bible and read some of God’s promises so that they can fill my mind rather than my continuing in the direction I am headed. I would like to say that I am more successful at this than not, but that has not been the case. What I find SO wonderful about God is that He asks us to give things over to Him and not fret – but He knows we are incapable of letting go – so He offers to do it for us, we just have to be willing! And then we reap the rewards of work He did in us! How great is that.

I believe that God allows the situations to reappear in our thoughts not merely to ‘test’ us, but give us an opportunity for growth and to see what progress we have made (or not)…for our own benefit. It could be to teach us things about ourselves, about others, teach us lessons in dealing with difficult people and situations. Personal growth is often best accomplished hands-on (unfortunately ☺).

It’s funny (well, not lol funny), but just now, while writing this I received a phone call and got some information that really…well, made me mad and hurt and stirred up old frustrations, disappointments, irritations, etc. So, my issues came back to me and I was given the opportunity to practice what I am now talking about! This time, I did stop and pray and tell God I know my negative thoughts will not change the situation, so help me to hand it over to Him. Help me to spend my energy on the things in my life that are positive and can benefit from my time (my family, friends, etc.) I want to be open to what I can learn in these 're-opened wound' times – but I don’t want them to consume me or make me ineffective. I want to know how to take what I have learned and truly move on. I don’t want the things I have gone through and worked on in the past 12 months to have been in vain.

I don’t believe anything happens by accident. For me, this week, I believe God knew what information would be placed in my lap today. Given my past history in dealing with this particular issue, God prepared me in a number of ways: 1)the message at church on Sunday, 2)the email waiting for me on Monday morning, 3)the reading I did on Monday night, and now my wanting to re-address this topic on the blog today! I guess He figured I needed a heads up and a lot of help! Well, it worked. This time (finally) rather than going into a downward spiral, playing out a hundred misdeeds of others in my mind and getting all worked up – I was reminded of what this was. An opportunity to practice and realize (flesh out) some of the growth I have made over the past year in dealing with these circumstances.

The past year has shown me how completely inept I am at forgiveness, conflict resolution (even conflicts in my own mind!), communication, and the list goes on. Yet, I can experience peace in the midst of the turmoil life hands me by calling on the Lord who is strong enough to accomplish those things for me and through me. When I accepted Jesus into my heart, I was given access to so much peace and joy (unexplainable peace and joy). That does not mean I don’t struggle and I don’t fail - but I don’t walk the road alone. Also, God doesn’t always miraculously smooth a situation over in my life or mind. I am not happy about wrongs that affect myself and others; but I am now choosing to not let them overwhelm me. This is not something that is easy for me or comes naturally; it is a process of healing and growth. God can also use talking things through with others and friends and counselors (when I am seeking health, not a time for wallowing as I have been know to do ☺ ) I'm fortunate that my husband is a great listener-but God has shown me also, that for some things it is best that I let God work it out in my life before involving others; other times He wants to use my husband to help me work through them and other times He has a completely different plan. Sometimes the simplest things can assist in working through some of the stress and strife-and I believe God offers guidance through many avenues. I am learning to stop trying to do it alone and ask for help-first from the Lord because He is best at sending appropriate help my way. I know that I will get opportunities to see my growth in action when the issues arise again. With practice, I am becoming a little more successful each time it is handed back to me.

Monday, August 25, 2008

GOD WANTS ME TO FORGIVE THEM?!?

Okay, this title is not original - it is from one of my kids' VeggieTales movies. But it is a predominant theme in my weekend/week so far.
At church this weekend, there was a guest speaker - turns out, it was someone who my family has known and loved for years. Having been on vacation last week, I had forgotten that he would be speaking and was pleasantly surprised when we showed up on Sunday morning and saw him sitting in the front of the church. I knew we were in for a great message ...yet, as the teaching progressed, I wasn't so sure. Oh, he was charismatic, hilarious, right on scripturally...everything you would want in a sermon and more....but as he spoke, I found I had some serious baggage that still needed tending to. You know how sometimes God chooses to remind us of things that we may not be so willing to deal with? Well, that was my Sunday.
Don't worry, I won't type out an entire sermon :) but I will say that the main gist of it was on forgiveness and if we are struggling with forgiving a person (or people), it may well be that we are not following what the Word of God says regarding forgiveness. It is so easy to say, "I have forgiven that person", all the while knowing there is a root of bitterness festering deep inside us. It is also easy to blame God that we find it impossible to forgive when we continue to focus on ourselves and how we have been wronged and we just don't understand why God won't make it easier. More often than not, we have not really surrendered to what the scriptures have to say about forgiveness. (and when we are in a state of unforgiveness it is easy to avoid those passages and just focus on those that serve our purposes!)
On Sunday, there were several passages of the Bible covered regarding forgiveness (the Lord's Prayer in Matthew, the attributes of God listed in Exodus 34:6-7, Jonah's attitude toward the Ninevites, etc. ) I would like to share a quick list of things that God asks us to do in dealing with those we feel have wronged us. We, as humans, find it easier to love our friends and hate our enemies, but God asks us to:
* Love our enemies
* Bless those who curse us
* Do good to those who hate us
* Pray for those who spitefully use us and persecute us
Ouch! I think that is enough!
None of the things listed here come naturally - yet, I have found that if we ask the Lord to instill those things in us, He will - and WE will be blessed as a result. I know for me, I often CHOOSE to hang on to my unforgiveness because if I hand it over to God, He may just reconcile a relationship I don't want reconciled (ala Jonah and the Ninevites). But, in that immaturity and selfishness, I am the one who misses out when I cling to resentment.
In the past year, God has blessed me with reconciled relationships that I handed over to Him to do as He pleases. I surrendered and I benefited. Why do I hang on to other seeds of unforgiveness in my life knowing that they only cause ME harm? My lying awake at night does not hurt my offender....it hurts me!
Looking at the list above, God did not say those things in Matthew 5:43-45 just for filler. They are the KEY to forgiveness in the heart of a believer. Surrendering fully to the admonitions in the Bible reap great benefits - they may not come easy to our human nature, but oh, they are so sweet when we think through what they are really saying to do and ask God to do them through us.
Okay, this was NOT supposed to be this long! I know God was really trying to impress this message on my heart when I heard the message on Sunday. Then, I opened my email on Monday morning to find a devotional on the same subject (btw, check out this great site with great devotionals for women: Proverbs 31) As if that was not enough, today when I logged on to our church website to read our "Thru the Word" passages which I had not done for a while, I found the SAME scripture (in Matthew 5) to read TODAY! Obviously, this is a timely message for me as I search my own heart - but I felt compelled to share it since most of us have people or situations in which we struggle with feeling wronged or hurt and don't understand why we can't get past it. I have learned 0nce again, over the past three days, that God's Word is very clear on how to resolve interpersonal relationships and it begins with us aligning our hearts with His and being willing to put others, even our "enemies" above ourselves.

Thank you Shauna!

I came home from vacation last week to find that I've been nominated for an award by my oh, so sweet friend Shauna! I've made so many changes to my blog over the past week - I hope she still likes it! :)

The rules for this award are:
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you've nominated.

So, I would like to take the chance to nominate some of my new SBS23 sisters whose blogs I have already grown to love visiting! Many of them are not new to this award, but I wanted to give all of you a chance to see their fabulous work. I only picked 7 of the 19 (listed on the left of my blog) not an easy task as they are all terrific, so be sure to check them out and be inspired!

1. Zoe
2. Ev
3. Lisa
4. Joey
5. Sue
6. Toni
7. Pink Sunshine

Saturday, August 23, 2008

My Blog Needs a New Name

So, you may have noticed I changed my blog name back - again. I knew this blog would be an ever-changing work in progress, but for some reason I have such a hard time settling on a name. Good thing my URL is my name! When I first started, after a short stint as "my blog needs a name", I moved on to the current name (Diapers, Dressup....) because it so aptly described my life at the moment. I wanted the site to be a place to catch up with family and friends and to share the things I was learning, reading, etc. desiring to be an encouragement to those who visited. When I began to make more time for hobbies like scrapbooking, I wanted to also incorporate more of that and am enjoying the community of new crafty friends that I have. I then changed to "Kristin's Krafty Kollection". That name is now gone - I couldn't get past the K K K alliteration. So, I am back where I was and formally asking for suggestions for my blog name. :) Got something good? Send it my way!!

More Blog Candy

This is a good one! And a great blog to visit!

Juliet's Paper Palace

Drawing is today, so hurry!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Blog Candy!

Shary at The Other Side Of Me has reached an amazing 37,000 hits on her blog. To celebrate, Shary is giving away some great candy, in the form of a lovely Alota Stamp and some images. Had to get in on the fun-and she has a great site!...check it out here:

Picture Help!

I started this layout a couple of months ago at a friend's house (thanks Mel!) I am not accustomed to creating layouts without pictures already in mind for the layout so it took me a while to decide what pictures to use. I finally decided on pics from us (along with my husband's sister) taking my father-in-law out for Fathers' Day dinner. It is still a work in progress as I have journaling and other fun things to add, but I am stuck with the picture on the first page. I really wanted to use it because it was so sweet how Sammie wanted to give her Daddy a flower she had just picked (okay it was a dandelion weed, but to her it was a beautiful flower!) What I am not thrilled about is all of the cars in the background since we were in a parking lot. Any suggestions on taking the focus off of the cars?


Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Vacation Phase Two: Completed

Someone once said, "all good things must come to an end". I haven't found this to be true across the board, but have unfortunately found it true of our vacations. We spent the past 10 days at one our most beloved spots: Pismo Beach, CA. Our travels have changed greatly since having three children, and changed even more now that the kids are of the age that we need 5 airline tickets :). We spend a lot more time driving now!
Anyhow, we spent lazy days at the beach, hit most of the Farmers Markets, and a few beautiful vineyards along the way. I look forward to sharing some pics (once I get my laptop fixed!). I'm also battling a cold...or the flu...or something that is not fun....so I'll post between getting settled back in to our crazy life and doses of NyQuil. :)

Monday, August 18, 2008

I've joined the Sisterhood!

No, I'm not talking about traveling pants or a religious order :), but I have joined the "Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers". It seems that I am joining all kinds of things lately, but I am making up for some lost time... Anyhow, the "Sisterhood" is a community of crafty ladies, sharing ideas and a love for all things beautiful that can be made with our hands. Each SBS group is limited to twenty women and I have just 'enlisted' in SBS Group 23. I have been ogling the goings on in other SBS groups for a while now and decided to take the plunge and can't wait for the fun to begin! Be sure to check out the work of the talented people in our group listed in the right hand column of my blog.

Please bear with me as I introduce myself to my new friends:
My name is Kristin and I have been wanting to join an SBS group for some time now...I have a great love for all things crafty, but am just now at this juncture of my life finding the time to enjoy some of the things I love. I think it is more that I am now making the time, otherwise it wouldn't happen. I love to scrapbook and stamping is quickly becoming a favorite medium in the things I do. In the past, I would buy supplies with grand intentions and never get around to scrapping! I quit working a year ago in October and the more I adjust to my redefined role at home, the more I enjoy being able to create and work on those stacks of pictures that seem to be endless....I look forward to SBS being a motivator and reminder for me to take some time out for myself and get busy!

I started my blog as more of a way to stay in touch with friends, have an outlet for my thoughts and share a little bit of myself. It is very much a work in progress. To this point I have not used it to display much of my layouts, etc. but that will be changing! I love seeing the creativity on everyone's blogs!

I live on the currently VERY hot U.S. west coast with my husband and three beautiful little girls. Although we are in the desert, I am a beach girl at heart. From the time my husband and I began dating 11 years ago, we have escaped the desert and spent as much time at the beach as possible....any beach :). Give us a few days off and we are there!

I have have just signed up as a Close To My Heart consultant (another thing I just joined:)) and I mean just - the stuff is still in the box! My starter kit arrived as we were leaving for (you guessed it), the beach. So stay tuned for the fun I can't wait to have with my new CTMH products!

I look forward to getting to know all of you!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Happy Birthday Kylie!!

This month we celebrated Kylie's 6th birthday. It is hard to believe our first baby is six!! Lately Kylie has really wanted to spend time with me scrapbooking, so I decided one of her gifts would be her very own set of supplies. (this is where the $ spot at Target came in handy) I put an old ice cream tub to good use with a little bit of paper, ribbon, etc... (I told my husband I was sure I would need an old ice cream tub someday!) Kylie was delighted with her gift and as soon as all of our vacationing is over we will have plenty of pictures to get work on together!



Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Vacation Phase One : Completed

This summer we split up our vacation time. It was not really by choice, but we had commitments to tend to and decided to take one week away then return home and after regrouping, leave again. We could not be far from home at first, so for phase one we decided to head up to our cabin in Utah. It was soooo nice to be out of the heat (big one for me), away from the hustle and bustle of daily life (telephones, email, etc....) and just relax! We did not spend any time in Utah last summer so it had been a while since we had been there as a family and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We got to spend a little time with my Mom, my brother and my niece. We all live in the same city, but got more time together hundreds of miles from home! Some of the highlights of our trip:

Day One: Daddy caught a horny toad, so we kept him for a couple of days
Sammie became attached to Mr. Horny Toad and even liked him on her head
We had a couple of days of WONDERFUL rain, which meant WONDERFUL mud!
"Grandma D" took the girls out for a ride - all three of them!!
We filled the feeder on our back porch hoping for guests....welcome!
The bird feeder did not have the same draw. Don't know why-can't beat the view!!
Gearing up for a water gun fight!!

Freeze Daddy!!



Up, up and away!
Sammie, Savannah, Kylie and Cousin Jennah say goodbye to Mr. Horny Toad
Samantha Hope

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Close to my Heart

No, this is not a mushy post about what is close to my heart! (oh, so many things)
This is a post to say I did it! After spending the past year becoming more enthralled with Close To My Heart products, I decided to become a consultant. I quit working this past October (well, officially "working" - I think I am working harder than ever though!) Once I got past the adjustment and shock to my system of not having to be chained to my computer all day long (and often into the wee hours of the night), I was able to devote some of my time to hobbies I had neglected. So, I have been scrapbooking as time permits and loving it!

For me, I started using CTMH products as a VERY easy (and fast!) way to create great scrapbook gifts since their kits are effortless and beautiful - and their idea books and guides are amazing. As I became more familiar with all they have to offer, I found that I love ALL of their products. I know I sound like a commercial, but I really mean it.

I have no idea how much time I will be able to put into this endeavor and it may at times just be for the sake of supporting my "habit". Whatever the outcome, I am excited to have access to more of what this great company has to offer from products to training, etc. If you want to check out my site to see the catalog and all of the great 'stuff', there is a link at the top of my blog or go here. I don't have the entire site built yet and still need to add artwork, etc. but will soon!

Happy Scrapping!