This is what Friends are for

They brighten up your days and make you smile!!

Don't forget that today is the last day of the Birthday Blog Hop don't worry if you haven't commented yet there is still time.

And you still have a few more days to leave a comment for the Studio Calico stamp I'm giving away on the 10 Years of Us post below.

~Mandy

10 Years of Us

is it possible that we've been married that long? I guess it is since the paper does say 8-30-2001 but it just doesn't seem like 10 years yet. We have had our ups and downs our ins and outs yet here we are. We are complete opposites and in the following you'll see why but we work he's the half that makes me whole.


SHE: is an only child from a broken family. HE: is the oldest of 3 and his parents have been married 30something years.

SHE: is impatient as hell HE:can wait til the moon changes green.

SHE: is a chubby dunker. HE: is a skinny dipper.

SHE: loves adventures. HE: is happy with whatever makes her happy.

SHE: get upset and crys. HE: Lets it roll off without a second glance.

SHE: loves to read. HE:reads car magazines on the porcelain thrown.

SHE: loves her morning sleeps. HE: is up at the crack of dawn.

SHE: is a people pleaser. HE: could give a shit less about what others think.

SHE: could yap on and on about scrapbooking and every other thing in life. HE: yaps about cars and of course listens to her interrupt with her yapping.

SHE: was a rodeo champ in her day and never thought she'd give up riding horses. HE: prefers the the horses under the hood of a car not the 4 legged kind.

SHE: is all about the chocolate. HE: is all about the peanuts.

SHE: wear it all on her sleeve. HE: keeps it tucked deep inside.

SHE: says left. HE: says right

SHE: drinks coke. HE: drinks Mt Dew.

SHE: likes to talk it out. HE: would rather think to himself.

SHE: says YES!! HE: says NO!

this list goes on and on but you get it.

Dearest Mr.K,
you saved my life(literally) all those years ago, you love me for me, you put up with all my crazy bullshit(and my pain in the ass family), you have helped me create 3 beautiful children i never thought I knew I wanted, you are the half that makes me whole, my best friend, my confidant, you help me to be the woman i am today not the girl you met back in 99, you are the one who wipes my tears and holds me, you're there to laugh when I make a total ass of myself, you know what makes me tick and just how to push my buttons, you hold my hair back when I've had to much to drink and pay for it the next morning(thank God that only happens once every summer),you always have that just for me look on your face when I need it from across the room, you make me laugh, cry, and want more,you complete me, you are my soulmate and i love you more with each passing year. I never thought I could have a love like this but i do and I'm so grateful for you! I can't wait to see what the next 10 years brings up. Thank you for loving me and being the ONE!
Love M

PS. I still get butterflies every time i see you drive away in that black mustang just like the night we first met.see why it's gotta stay! xoxo


And now since you read all that you can stop putting your finger down your throat gagging on my mush and leave a comment to win this Studio Calico Stamp that I am giving away to one of you. Leave a comment telling me how long you've been married. if you've found the one. hell if you want tell me I'm crazy and that you really were gagging with this post i don't care. just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win. I'll leave this open til Saturday 11:59 pm and then I'll draw a winner on Sunday morning.

~Mandy

Don't forget you still have time to use the blog hop code and be enter in to that giveaway too just jump to the post below to leave a comment.

Precocious Paper Blog Hop: Happy Birthday Tessa!!

Hey all!! Remember a few weeks ago I was yapping about a blog hop and that Tessa would be celebrating her 30th birthday? Well guess what the time has come for the Birthday Girl and some of her friends to celebrate with a blog hop which happens to be sponsored by Tessa's Etsy shop, Precocious Paper.get this Tessa is giving away over $100.00 in product. You don’t want to miss this! You can join in on the fun by starting at Tessa’s blog here. If you’ve been hopping along and just came from Liz Weber’s blog, you are in the right place.

Here is a necklace I created for the hop using pieces from the September Precocious Paper Sampler (flowers & butterfly). I added the chain, doilies, buttons, and epoxy photo.Love this sampler it's one of my favs! Would you like some Precocious Paper goodies to work with? Do you have some favorites in the shop and have been waiting to order? The read this! If you complete the entire hop, leaving a comment on every designer’s post, you will be entered to win the grand prize – the September, October, November and December Samplers! That’s a $54.00 value and dozens upon dozens of beautiful hand-crafted scrapbooking embellishments. Follow Tessa’s blog to be entered to win a $20.00 credit to the shop, and if you follow Precocious Paper on Facebook, you could win another $20.00 credit. SAWEET huh?! Tessa is also giving away surprise credits to blog hop participants, so be sure to leave a comment on this post!

Tessa has added many new items to her shop as part of the celebration, so be sure to stop by and take a peek. If you use this code MKBBHFREE during check out you will receive free shipping and a free thank you gift.international buyers need a minimum $5.00 order.The code is good through September 5th.

Your next stop on the hop is Sara Zenger.

Thank you for stopping by and happy hopping!

No words just some photos from Gma&Gpa's

What I've been working on

The other day I said I was going to share peeks of some things I've been working so here are a couple. I've also been working on my stash trying to downsize it and purge. I have a few boxes that need to go and more stuff i need to go thru. Trying to talk Mr.K into letting me have the room downstairs for my scrap space. I think he's scared of all the stuff we have stored in there and what we'd do with it all,me I'm ready for the challenge and also ready to get rid of some of that stuff in there.
Working on a new diet plan for the fam especially Mr.K since the doctor called last week to tell us his blood tests didn't come back good and he needs a lifestyle change. So his skinny ass is going to be exercising more, eating healthier, and taking meds. I got good news my blood work came back good. I'm driving Mr.K craazy with all the stank eyes and no you can't have that's but it's all out of my love for him.
Working on getting everyone back in to the school routine since there is only 2 weeks til school starts 2 weeks Dude where's the summer go? This means getting up early, meal times, workbooks, and going to bed earlier. School shopping is done! We finished this weekend with a trip to the shoe store with Mav. Fun? for a few minutes til we walked to the shoe aisle and of course the light em up shoes are across from the shoes he needs for his feet(for those that don't know Mav had re corrective surgery this past Jan on both feet because he has a rare foot deformity) so of course he wants the light up shoes so what do we do try to talk him into the right shoes which leads to a meltdown and everyone in the store staring but we did good stayed calm and Mr.K & I decided just buy both pairs of shoes right now take the light ups back on Monday and keep the ones Mav needed. It's just easier that way and it got the Dude thru a stressful public outing(not his fav thing he's a real home body) plus once we got back in the car then home he didn't even care about the damn shoes.

So what are you working on?

Precocious Paper September Projects

Hey all just wanted to share my Precocious Paper projects using the September Sampler which is a must have if you ask me! Love it! I have another project I'm working on for the Blog Hop using the same sampler.
First I made this display piece for Teagan birthday that is coming up in September. The butterfly, flower, and ribbon are all in the sampler. Second is a simple and quick necklace using the flowers and yo-yo flower from the sampler. The necklace is by GCD Studios and to make the epoxy center I used the Epiphany Crafts Round 25 Shape Studio.Now i need to get back to working on some other DT projects that I'll give you a sneak peek at this weekend.
~Mandy

American Crafts Design Team

So very very excited to share that I am one of the new American Crafts Girls for 2011-2012. I keep pinching myself because I must be dreaming!Wow!!Congrats to these fabulous ladies I will be designing with...

INTERNATIONAL

Cindy Stevens – from New Brunswick, Canada

Lilith Eeckles – from Bertogne, Belgium

Michelle Clement – from British Columbia, Canada

Piradee Talvanna – from Singapore

Revlie Schuit – from Roelofarendsveen, The Netherlands

Shimelle Laine – from London, England


UNITED STATES

Amy Heller – from Newtown, CT

Cindy Tobey – from Kentwood, MI

Corrie Jones – from Dallas, GA

Heidi Sonboul – from Torrance, CA

Jamie Harper – from Phoenix, AZ

Jenny Chesnick – from Brooklyn, MD

Leah Farquharson – from Lauderhill, FL

Leslie Ashe – from Fort Worth, TX

Mandy Koeppen – from Hastings, MI

Melissa Mann – from Pensacola, FL

Paige Evans – from South Pasadena, CA

Pamella Brown – from Santa Rosa Beach, FL

Rahel Menig – from Gilroy, CA

Suzy Plantamura – from Laguna Niguel, CA

Thanks for letting me share my excitement!

~Mandy

Precocious Paper Event & a Card

Tessa from Precocious Paper is turning 30 and what better way to celebrate that milestone in her life than with a blog hop? So please join me, Tessa, Amanda, and a fab group of other ladies to celebrate this fun event! Over the next few weeks we'll be designing projects to share and will hop together from blog to blog, admiring the PP creations, leaving sweet comments, and entering to win a big Precocious Paper prize :). Save the date! It's going to be fun!!

Here is a card I created with the Precocious Paper Butterfly doilies.

Visit the Precocious Paper Etsy shop to see this product and more including the August Sampler
Summer Twilight
~Mandy

Getting back to the norm..

after a weekend away at CKC Nashville, TN it was filled with work, fun,meeting friends,lots laughter, shopping, and new experiences. Will be back tomorrow with some more to share but I'll leave you with my view from the plane.
~Mandy

What do you see when you look at this photo?I see blues, reds, bricks, circles, and a 2 page layout featuring a girl back to school shopping. Say what??Yes that is what came to mind when I first saw the photo and the end of summer theme. I knew i wanted to do something with that stack of receipts that I kept from our back to school shopping trips last year and use journaling how crazy shopping with a teen girl can be.
The brainstorming began.. and this is the 2 Page layout I created.

You can see in this photo that the layering of the receipts mimics the brick pattern and colors a bit. Believe it or not this isn't all the receipts from last year, yes there are more! Crazy I know.

Next this photo shows the half circle that I used for my journaling, the colors , and patterns that inspired me to use the GCD Studios papers on this layout. When I was flipping through my alphas trying to decide which one to use this red Alphabet jumped out at me right away it reminds me of the couch. What do you think?

And those ladies from Melody Ross' Vintage Jane pattern paper well they just had to be used on this layout they so look like they were out shopping on the town just like Jessie.

So now that you know how this photo inspired me what so you think? Do you see what I did? Something else? If you are inspired to create something do share! Thanks for stopping by!

GCD Studios Products Used:
Vintage Jane - Homespun Chic by Melody Ross
Vintage Audrey - Homespun Chic by Melody Ross
Blue Redwork - Homespun Chic by Melody Ross

Tutorial Tuesday

Some of you might be looking for this tutorial after you saw the notebook I created on the Precocious Papre blog last week and others well you are just stumbling on this because you happened to take a look at my little part of the world. Anywho these books are really easy to create and fun to keep handy. You can use them for everyday, the kids, party favors,a wasy to use up scraps etc.

The Notes book I created for this tutorial

Supplies used: Patterned Paper, cardstock, ribbon, sticker, stampOn to the Tutorial

Step 1. Cut the pattern paper for the cover to size. This book is 4.25x6inches. Cut the inside pages to size. Again this book is 4x5.75inches. You could make these books any size you want.

Step 2. Fold all the inside pages and the cover.

Step 3. Layer all the folded inside pages into the cover.

Step 4. Using a sewing machine stitch down the middle of the book.

Step 5. To make the pencil loop fold the ribbon around a pencil adhere the ribbon together then to the book.

Step 6. Adhere the last page of the notebook to the cover.It covers the ribbon.

Step 7. press firmly on the back page to make sure it's adhered.

Step 8. stamp the inside pages with a date stamp so that you can keep track of when you wrote the note.

Step 9. Embellish the cover.

You now have a nifty little notebook!

If you have any questions let me know.

~Mandy

Look at her!

Yes this girl has been doing so much in the last week and had a few firsts in her little life like..

learning to tie her shoes 10:30pm last night and is really proud of herself! She's getting so big hard to believe she'll be starting school in a month.

Her first concert on Thursday night! Boy was it a good first too she saw Taylor Swift. Miss A had a grin from ear to ear dancing, singing, waving her glow stick, and enjoying the experience. I actually left the camera at home because I wanted to take in the moments with her instead of trying to get the perfect shot. It was great but I do wish I would have had the camera now.

She's had so many other adventures too which I've been there to see it's so neat watching her do these things and all the words coming out of her mouth. She sure does make life interesting! Love you AEK!!

Those of you looking for the Precocious Paper notes book tutorial it's coming I promise!Look for it tomorrow in a post titled Tutorial Tuesday. I took the weekend off to be with the family and our weekend started on Thursday with the concert:)
~Mandy