Remembrance Scrapbooking

Summer has been Awesome!

2011-07-24T10:01:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this summer has been completely awesome. So much has happened and it seems like it's gone by so fast! I've spent alot of time looking for a job, since I just recently graduated. That has been difficult and slow. In the teaching profession, getting a job is all about who you know. At this point, I don't know many people. My mentor teacher from last year has been helping with this some, and for that I am grateful. Anyway, I just keep praying and remember that God has a plan for my life. If I don't get a teaching job, I'll probably just substitute teacher or work work for a tutoring company.

My sister got a job this summer working as a veterinary assistant. I'm so proud of her! She's awesome and has an amazing job and she's just 17.

We had some of our ducks hatch this summer. We were especially thrilled to get this yellow duck (Donald or Donna...we don't know yet). What a cutie. We have a Mallard flock so no idea where this little yellow guy came from.

It seems like I've been waiting all summer for the new season of project runway to start!! Finally, this Thrusday. Some friends and I are having a watch party where we're eating veggies (because isn't that only what models eat anyway) and decorate your own cupcakes (so we can do a "project" too). I know, silly! But fun.

I'm the Proud Owner of A Master of Arts in Teaching!!!

2011-05-16T20:52:00.001-05:00

Finally, it's over!... My Master of Arts in Teaching program that is!
"I have fought the good fight...I have finished the race!"...and with a 4.0 at that!!

My graduation weekend was extra special because my sister was also turning 17 years old! So, we decided to combine and party even harder with a BirthGrad Party! Held at Crystal Hall in Rogers, over 55 of our closest friends joined us in celebrating. The menu included mixed nuts, strawberries, grapes, assorted fruit, potato Salad, crackers, bagels and cream cheese, danish, brownies, muffins, cheese, vege meat, Hawaiian rolls, spreads, black & green olives, kettle chips, lemon raspberry green tea, bottled root beer and grape crush, and bottled water....not to mention the two-tiered cake from Rick's Bakery in Fayetteville which was FABULOUS! Top tier was chocolate with white chocolate mousse and the bottom tier was white cake with chocolate mousse! I am so grateful to everyone who came and made it such a special celebration!

After that party, we had the "after party" at the Embassy Suites in Rogers. Me, my two friends, my sister, and her two friends....along with my Aunite (who just happens to be a massage therapist!!!) crashed for a fun sleepover. We all got chair massages, of course, ate junk food (Doritos, Pringles, Gardetoes, Twizzlers, m&ms, sour gummy worms, soda, and chocolate covered strawberries...oh and whip cream), and watched "The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treador"....have to say, a little disappointed in this Narnia instalment...but still worth the watch.

Anyway, overall, such a fabulous weekend! Will never ever forget it!
Here's a little video of the highlights...

A little spring Yummy

2011-03-23T14:34:00.000-05:00

Find the recipe and instructions at

http://thecraftingchicks.com/2011/03/tweet-tweet-you-are-sweet-easter-treat-ideas-free-tags.html

Annie

2011-03-20T01:43:00.000-05:00

Once a year I direct a play done by our church youth group. We do the play in conjunction with a valentine banquet as a fundraiser. This year, the play was "Annie". So much work, but so much fun! It helps where you are working with fabulous "actors"! Here are a few pictures from the night of our performance.

"Oliver Warbucks" and "Annie"

"Annie" backstage

Singing "Tomorrow"

The red carpet entrance

"Rooster", "Annie", and "Lilly"

Table Settings

Graduation Photos...a new hobby?

2011-03-20T01:30:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine asked me to take her college graduation photos. I was a little wary at first because I am NOT a professional photographer. I just play around with pictures. However, since I got my new Canon Rebel T2i at Christmas, I've been learning more. Anyway, I agreed to give it a shot and she agreed not to have too high of an expectation.

However, after a couple hours at the beautiful UofA campus...and praying for it not to rain, we ended up with some fabulous picture for an amateur photographer. Below are some examples. So...if you need a photographer in Northwest Arkansas, I'd be more than happy to give it a whirl. :)

Chess Squares

2011-02-11T10:23:00.000-06:00

I found an awesome recipe at Kevin & Amanda's blog and thought I'd give it a try. Eveyrthing went grade except I had to bake it about 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for...and I think it still could have gone another 5. This may have been due to the fact that I tried using fat free cream cheese and light butter. Overall, they are fabulous though!

Winter Blast...and we thought last week was bad!

2011-02-09T17:54:00.000-06:00

Greetings from Arkansas!

Last week schools were closed 4 days because of the "unprecidented storm": 1 inch ice, 10 inches of snow. People were calling it the "100 year storm". Well, today, mother nature blew the "100 year storm" out of the water! Last night and throughout the day today we recieved 25 inches of snow!! This is the most snow I have ever seen in my life...without a doubt!

My family and I spent a fabulous day "drift diving", digging our vehicles out (and subsequently getting them stuck again), and just completely being overtaken by the "wow" factor! Here are a few pictures from the "500 year storm"...as it is now being called.

The Road is more like a trough.

Burried Cars!

Chillin' with a cold drink!

Poor cold little birdies!

Drift Diving

Treasure Quest

2011-02-05T15:11:00.002-06:00

Last February (oops, I'm little behind on the scrapbooking) I directed a play with my church youth group entitled "Treasure Quest". It was set in the jungle and followed an "could-have-been-true" story of the youth group going on a mission trip. While on the trip, several of the kids discover a treaure map that leads them on the journey of a lifetime. If your interested, you can watch the play on youtube.

Anyway, this is a scrapbook page I just completed from the night of the play. I went out of the box a little bit and used alot of 3D embellsihments to recreate scenes from the play. It was alot of fun. All supplies (embellishments, paper, cardstock, and alphabets) were purchased at Hobby Lobby.

50th Annivesary Card

2011-02-05T11:45:00.000-06:00

A 50th wedding anniversary card for a very special couple: "Still Mr. & Mrs. (inside reads)...even after 50 years!"

Potatoe Pancakes

2011-02-03T10:20:00.001-06:00

Still snowed in here in Arkansas! Thought it was the perfect morning for some comfort food, aka Potatoe Pancakes.

1 pound Hashbrowns, Thawed

5 Eggs

3 Tbs. Flour

1 cup cheese

2 stalks green onion, chopped

1/4 cup half-n-half

1 tsp garlic (or to taste)

2 tsp season salt (or to taste)

Mix all ingredients. Form into paties. Fry until crispy and brown on both sides. Serve with sliced avlacado and salsa.

Sour Cream Enchiladas

2011-02-01T15:02:00.000-06:00

Well, we're here in Arkansas, caught in the "Winter Blast" of the century (AKA "Snow Day"!). Thought I'd try my hand and some very yummy looking enchiladas I saw on one of my favorite blogs: "The Pioneer Woman Cooks". Let me tell you, there were VERY easy and AMAZING! You can find the recipe and even print out a recipe card at the blog.

Braille Wedding Card

2011-01-29T14:31:00.002-06:00

A friend of mine is getting married this weekend. It dawned on me... I couldn't really make her a regular wedding card because she wouldn't be able to read it. You see, my friend and her fiance are both blind.

So, I pulled out and dusted off the ole' Fiskars "ShapeBoss" embossing system. After googling "braille alphabet" and printing out a copy, I was ready to go. I had to emboss the letters backward on the back side of the paper. It took about 45 minutes in oder to keep everything straight and not get confused. But, I was very pleased with the results. I cut the card out, rounded the corners and stamped a wedding cake on it (now they can't really see this... but the scrapbooker in me just needed to stamp something).

It is going to be such a special wedding. Two people found each other among the sea of humanity and fell in love...without ever seeing one another. It that is not a testimony of what true love should be like, then I don't know what is. I look forward to sharing this special day with them.

Snow Days

2011-01-11T10:49:00.000-06:00

Just enough snow to close school!

Even Abbey gets to sleep in on a snow day!

Camera Strap Slip Cover

2010-12-29T20:12:00.000-06:00

I got a really cute camera strap slip cover idea from "Kevin and Amanda's blog" so I thought I'd give it a try for myself. It turned out wonderfully!! So cute!

Old Family Christmas Recipes

2010-12-27T10:28:00.002-06:00

My grandparents from my dad's side of the family have been gone for over ten years now. However, I still have vivid memories of sharing special holidays with them. Each Christmas my grandparents would make Diblonskis. These are kind of like a filled donught. The recipe is an old family recipe that came over from Czechoslovakia. My dad and I tried our hand at making these for the first time.

The Dough - A Sweet Donught Dough Recipe

Filling with Strawberry Preserves

Frying - 4 minutes each side on medium heat.

Eat and Enjoy!

What a fun thing to do at Christmas...remember your family traditions!

2010-11-04T17:35:00.000-05:00

Wondering why I haven't posted in days and days? Well, I've been a bit busy as a full-time graduate student and a full-time teaching intern. I go to school on Mondays from 8-5 and then teach full time on Tuesday through Friday - 6th grade math. Now, let me be the first to say that, "I LOVE IT!"...but I'm getting SICK of writing papers, doing reflections, and being so busy I can't seem to do anything well. But, this too shall pass and soon I'll have my own classroom all to myself.....and, I'll also be the proud owner of a Master's Degree!

Even with all this business, I've found a bit of time to still do some craft projects. I've found my Cricut machine to be truely a LIFESAVER for teachers! Below is a picture of a fall bulletin board I did using shapes from the "Doodle Charms" cartridge.

Blueberries

2010-07-05T17:10:00.000-05:00

Summer is good in Northwest Arkansas. This morning my mom, sister, and I went blueberry picking for the second time this season. A total of 5 gallons all together. My mom spent the afternoon freezing the berries, while I spent some time making some pies!

2010-06-16T09:13:00.001-05:00

These are a couple little note cards. Supplies used on "Just a Thought": Textured Flourish Stamp-Stampabilities; Flower - Making Memories Giggle Kids; Sentiment - The Paper Studio; Cream Ribbon; and Green & White cardstock. I hand cut the white scalop Box. Supplies used for "A Little Somthing For You": Sentiment - Stampabilities; Leafy Stem- Paper Inspirations; Butterfly Stamp; and green and white cardstock.

Inspired by Julie Cameron http://www.paperhearts.ca/

2010-06-15T16:06:00.001-05:00

This is a great little Thank-You card I made from a great idea at KWernerDesign Blog (link below).

Products used included:

C-Motion Cloud Stamp

Me&My Big Ideas Specialty Cardstock

Heidi Swapp "Thank You" sticker

Inspiration from "Make A Card Monday" on KWernerDesign Blog at:

http://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog/?p=3407

2010-06-15T16:03:00.000-05:00

Hello! Hope you're enjoying your day! This is a scrapbook page I did from our Church's Valentine Banquet Play entitled "Western Plains". I love the colors in these photos and the western paper.

2010-06-08T10:37:00.003-05:00

Now that I'm only taking one summer class, I've had time to do some LONG OVERDUE scrapbooking. "The Big Night" is from our church valentine banquet. The youth group put on a play that I wrote and directed called "American Heroes". You can view the play on youtube."Sleepy" is from our youth group's world wide camporee that was held in Oshkosh, WI.

2010-06-08T09:51:00.001-05:00

Accomplishment is a sweet reward for very hard work! I graduated from the University of Arkansas with my Bachelor of Science in Middle Level Education. No rest yet though...going straight on to get my Master's Degree!

It was a great weekend and I'm thankful for all my friends and family who made it so special!

Our Little Friends

2010-04-26T21:53:00.002-05:00

Our pets become such a BIG part of our lives. They are our companions, and for some, our children. We feed them, wash them, clothe them, walk them, pay for them....LOVE THEM. When we loose a pet, it is devastating. I know...I recently lost my Pomeranian, Casey, to liver cancer... after 12 years. It was hard, really hard. It's been four months ago and I still tear up when I think about "my little muffin". We put him to rest in our pet cemetery. I recently decided to try to adopt another puppy, and after several weeks of looking, I found the perfect little friend...Finley. He came to live at our house from our city's animal shelter. What a little love bug-raga-muffin he is! God had him in mind for me all along...I firmly belive that! Take a few moments today to photograph your family pets. You'll be glad you did!

Remembrance Scrapbooking Video

2010-01-15T22:11:00.004-06:00

2009-12-21T10:55:00.001-06:00

Today I took a Career Inventory Personality Test at http://www.similarminds.com/. It was amazing how accurate it was. after taking a quick test of about 25 easy questions, I had results.

Extroversion 43%, Emotional Stability 53%, Orderliness 93%, Altruism 63%, Inquisitiveness 43%

I am a Guardian, possible professions include - counseling, ministry, library work, nursing , secretarial, curators, bookkeepers, dental hygienists, computer operator, personnel administrator, paralegal, real estate agent, artist, interior decorator, retail owner, musician, elementary school teacher, physical therapist, nurse, social worker, personnel counselor, alcohol/drug counselor.

The things I highlighted in bold are TRUE things I am already involved in. The things in Italics are things I have been involved in in the past, or have been goals I've had or have.

Pretty cool! You should check it out!

2009-12-20T17:50:00.004-06:00

Remembrance Scrapbooking Video

2009-12-20T17:45:00.003-06:00

You May Ask... "Why would anyone want to scrapbook my memories for me?" The reason is... I love Scrapbooking and treasure it can add to life! I have a passion to keep you from forgetting your most precious memories! It's my job to keep your photographs and memorabilia from becoming... "Gone With the Wind".

I began Scrapbooking about ten years ago. It all began when my mom and a friend enticed me into their Scrapbooking group, “The Cut-Ups”. Kicking and Screaming, I joined their club... soon after I became a more avid scrapper than any of them.

Since then I have created a seemingly uncountable amount of personal scrapbooks and memory albums. It is such a joy for me to be able to sit down and reminise over the precious memories that I have shared with my family and friends. Also, I have taught instructional classes and been part of a design team. I enjoy sharing my Scrapbooking passion with others! The joy of keeping “caught up” with my photographs is ongoing, and I look forward to capturing each new memory in my albums.

I have been doing professional freelance scrapbooking for four years, and love it even more than ever. I love the look in my clients eyes when they open their brand new album and begin to look at the treasures that are preserved and displayed forever. It is my pleasure to serve you and together "fight the fight" of decaying memories.

Let's take a walk down memory lane someday soon,
Audra

Remembrance Scrapbooking Website