Savings for Kids

We have been banking with a certain bank for like a million years and we decided to start bank shopping.  I didn't want to do a credit union with all of the banking problems in our midst today so I wandered into a little bank on my route to and from home, South Valley, which is also convieniently located next to the dollar store!  Something is going on with that...

When we walked in everyone made eye contact with us, smiled and even asked how we were doing - could it be that they actually want to get new clients?  Customer service at it's best.  I already knew one of the ladies there, her name is Suzi and she is a wonderful friend I met at a previous job. 

I talked to a very knowledgeable young lady (Heather?) about personal accounts and then I spoke with Debi about Hunter's savings and our business accounts.  Another wonderful lady!

We ended up going to "that other bank" where we have been for years and cashed out & closed some accounts.  The people at "that other bank" didn't even look crosswise at us, let alone ask why we were leaving.  That is really too bad because I think that customer service is very important and that is why I will be closing all of the accounts with them.

So, we trotted Hunter's savings right down to Debi and opened an account.  When we opened the account Hunter received this really cool bank shown in the picture.  Nice promotional product! 

He has a slot in his mane and the bottom is the access to remove your money.  I think he will even fit in the drive up window tray!

So, this story does not end here - They also give a cool little card that you collect stickers on.  You can make as many deposits for any denomination any time you wish but you get one sticker a week if you make a deposit in any given week.  Once he accumulates 6 stickers he gets to get into the treasure chest!  This isn't just some little treasure chest with bouncy balls and egg timers either; this baby has puzzles, cars, Nerf footballs, coloring books and they are not from the dollar store!

He has his eye on the football and next week will be his 6th deposit.....

Crafty runs in the family...

Check out the gigantic snowflakes that Hunter made - they are awesome!

He learned to do this in school.  On the snowflakes he made at home he used 8 x 8 cardstock - one piece for each color.  I can't give out the pattern because I don't even know what it is!

Good job Hunter :-)

SSS MB Christmas ATC Swap

I just received the ATC cards from the SSS Christmas ATC swap yesterday - how fun!  And here they are...

Marilyn (A.K.A. melonscraps) from Beaverton, Oregon hosted this swap and I want to thank her - Thank You Marilyn!

SSS MB Christmas Card Swap - Received

Here are the wonderful cards I received for the Christmas card swap on the SSS MB.

From Julie

From Mary

From Marilyn

From Lori

From Julia

From Debra

From Brenda

I love each and every card!  They are all different but each remind me of a technique I can use when I feel like I am stuck.  Thank you ladies! 

Thanksgiving ATCs from ATC Lovers Swap

Here are the ATCs from the ATC Lovers Thanksgiving Swap.  Not a huge turn out but some nice techniques.  Nice job ladies!

Christmas Cards for SSS Card Swap

I signed up for a Christmas Card Swap on the SSS MB and here is the front of the card I designed.  I used an idea from a blog far, far away (I don't remember:-(...) and it didn't work out for me like it was supposed to so I improvised.

This is my first use of alcohol inks and I decided that I like them and I will not be afraid any longer!

To create the snowflake on the dotted background...

I took a cotton ball and dabbed it onto a bottle of rubbing alcohol.  I then put 2 dots of pink ink and 2 dots of blue ink on the cotton ball (over the rubbing alcohol) and dabbed on the 4x6 photo paper's glossy side.  Depending upon the surface being covered the ink may run out - just reapply alcohol and ink drops.

The rubbing alcohol helps to transfer the ink to the paper and allows you to mute or fog the ink depending upon the ratios. 

To get the snowflake image I stamped a snowflake with the versamark pad and then sprinkled pearl embossing powder onto the sticky image.  After that, I used a heat gun to melt my embossing powder and voilà, you have a snowflake.

Once the hard part was done I simply mounted the 4" x 6" onto an inked 4-1/2" x 6-1/2" piece of purple cardstock and then onto a 5" x 7" card.

This is a view of the inside.  I printed out on regular 20 lb. paper, tore around the edges and inked.  Of course I have applied everything with my big red tape gun.

And this is the back...

I made these specifically for the swap but also made some extras and sent them to friends and family.  I have been working on cards off and on all year so some other's that went out look like this....

I appears that it is time to get started for next year since the list is growing with new found friends!

Free Printable Images

I love these images!  Please go the this link and check them out because it may spur the creative juices if you are stuck in a rut!
http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/

I know that I have gotten a few ideas of my own and I have a special birthday card in mind...  Who will be the recipient?

Chance in full color

I was anxiously awaiting our new Boer buck and he arrived on Friday, December 18th.  Al, Kim and Tony pulled in about 1.  We unloaded and had a nice lunch before they were off on their trip home.

 The weekend was a blur...

And...it is Tuesday already!

He is definitely a sweet guy and he looks great!  He will be one whole year old on February 10th and I think he will be a nice large buck like Henry.

See - no horns!

He is a hit with the young girls!  I think that our other bottle baby (not pictured) Silver is going to end up being the lead goat.  She is over the moon about Chance and she is dancing and bouncing all over the place.  She was so happy the other night that she ran in the barn lean to and did a 360° on the wall of the first stall!

Just a heads up on some RAK.  Check out my S.S.S. friend Angie's blog and take a look at her new scrap space - it is Awesome!  She is also giving away some goodies :-)
http://thefeathersinmynest-mommiextwo.blogspot.com/

New Years ATC to ATC Lovers Swap

Here is a picture of the ATC I rushed to finish for shipment with my make-up Christmas ATCs to Idaho.  We were supposed to think of a word that represented how we want to be to others in the new year.

I am approaching 40 and it will be happening in 2010.  I think that a lot of people freak out about age and change how they do things and I don't think I am one of those people but...

I want to be sure that I remain authentic instead of becoming someone else.

And, as you can see, my card is not exactly straight, and I am a stickler for things being lined up so I would not be authentic if I did not mention that the card is crooked!  On the other hand, I am getting older and wiser and I did post the picture instead of taking a new one of a fixed card - so, I must be mellowing with age!

Maybe that has something to do with my other New Year's swap..... :-)

The Grimes Christmas Display

As I mentioned earlier...

I went on a field trip with Hunter's class to see the Annual Grimes Christmas Display.

This is a picture of Mr. Hite and Mr. Grimes.  In the background you can see the display on the tables.

This is the "sea shore community".

This display is all glass...

This is a motion display and the little ice skaters are moving around on the ice.

This is another motion display when they are moving around on the ice.

This is a picture of the Nutcracker display and  you can see Alyssa Edwards studying the little figurines.

This is an old can turned on it's side with a little mouse wedding going on inside.

This one is a party going on inside of an old log...

And they also had all of these wonderful old books that included a lot of fairy tales on display with little figures for each of them.

Of course there was a lot more to see and I only included a few pictures.  Apparently they set it up differently every year.  I guess I will have to go to see what is different next year. 

Flowers from the Smith 6

I downloaded my camera and found this picture waiting patiently.  These pretty little flowers came from the Smith 6 when they came up for a visit a few weeks ago.  They lasted until today which was very remarkable.

Thank you so much Matt, Heidi, Justin, Caleb, Ben and Seth!  I really enjoyed these flowers!

School Field Trip

I get to go on a school field trip with the 5th graders from Hunter's school today.  We are going to the Grimes' Christmas Display down by the Bowman Museum.

In all the years that this has been diplayed in different parts of town....I have never gone to it.  This should be a real treat!  I will post pics.   I need to download my camera anyway...

I just finished up my Secret Santa Homemade Goodies swap and my Christmas Card Swap for the S.S.S. MB that I am a member of.  I will be heading to the post office again today.

I went to the PO yesterday because I had to send an emergency package!  My friend, Emma, in Idaho is hosting a Christmas ATC swap and I had sent the reindeer ATCs over to her around the 7th.  Well she contacts me the night before last and tells me that my ATCs have not arrived yet!!!

Yesterday morning I started scrambling to remake 22 cards.  I made them and my New Years cards (they also go to her) to save on shipping and I sent them priority.  I am sure that the other's will turn up - but when?  If they do, I will host a "Christmas in July" swap and send them out then!

The last and only time I can remember having something lost in the mail was our mortgage payment.  That was a long time ago and the mortgage company was very understanding...apparently all of their mail cleared through one of those post offices where they had the anthrax show up years ago.

Well, I am off to get ready to go to town.  Several errands here and in Redmond so it will be a long day.

I will leave with this...

Found a treat container....

While I was digging around in my scrap bag at the last class I found a treat container that I had missed when I posted earlier.  I think this one is great and I cannot wait to use it for Valentine's Day or Halloween.  The little bite sized candy bars are out for almost every occasion now days and this little bag is so easy to make there are lots of possibilities.

The tree is up....finally!

The bitter cold of last week kept us all hopping trying to keep everything from freezing and constantly checking on my lady goats took some time.  I was not real thrilled with the idea of dragging all of the Christmas stuff out of the shed when it was -15° and windy!

So, Hunter and I brought all the boxes in on Friday and let them warm up in the garage for a day and then to warm in the house for awhile.

We set the tree up yesterday morning, I strung the lights while he helped Warren outside for a bit and then I left him to decorate while I worked on the chores.

I think he did a mighty fine job and here is a picture of his masterpiece.

Jan Farring's Stampin Up! Class

Mom, Hunter and I went to Jan Farring's class on Saturday and it was great.  Hunter helped us keep up in between DS games.  There was one other person there aside from Jan, her name is Rose and she was very sweet.

To start off with, here are a couple items that I received as give-aways.

The first is a gift bag made from 2 pieces of 12 x 12 paper.

The second item was a Gift Card holder with a To & From tag.

And the third give-away was a cute little book marker.  You squeeze it open and put it over the corner of your page.

During all of the give-away fun we were hard at work making our card holder and cards.  Here is my card holder.

Then, we made 4 cards.  We got to choose the sentiment we put on and that was difficult! I have to say that I am lovin' the pink...

This one is my favorite!  Wonder who will get this for their birthday????

This one is really cute!

I like the ruffly look on this card.

I guess I love them all because this one has a great layout also.  Reverse the colors to blue, green or brown and you have a man's card.

Christmas ATCs

I can't wait any longer to post these little goodies.  Here are my Christmas ATCs for this year.  The Chistmas light went to the SSS swap and the reindeer went to the ATC Lovers swap.  I hope to see my return swap envelope soon :-)