it’s template tuesday!!

i will openly admit that i suck at template tuesday.  i have a whole pile of them, stacked-up on my desktop, just waiting to be played with.

but i don’t suck so bad at it when it is actually my turn to make the template.

that’s right!  it’s my template there today. :)

(click on layout for full list of credits.)

so head on over, download it, play (better than i do..), and share your creation in the template tuesday gallery.

hope to see your layout there!

A little template for your Tuesday.

That’s right.. it’s Tuesday again and that means another “Template Tuesday” is upon us.

Here’s where you can get it, and here is what I did with it:

All papers and elements are from The Queen of Quirk- “You are Here” full kit.

The alpha is another goodie from The Queen of Quirk- “Aubergine”.

Staples are from Splendid Fiins.

And that stitch..  well that is from this brush class.

(Take it.  You won’t regret it, I promise!)

Font: Pea Matt & Kari

A little inspiration.

I do a lot at the computer.

(Page credits here.  You can download FREE template here.)

Edit pictures, digi scrapbook, blog, create other things digitally..  basically I spend a lot of time in Photoshop.

I have a few choices as to what I can do while I am doing that.  I can listen to music.  I can listen to the girls play.  I can sit in silence.  I can sing to myself.  Before the teenaged DVD player decided to be a grumpy teenager, I could listen to whatever movie (or “ooive” if you are three) the girls were watching, or I can talk on the phone..

I would rather not hear myself sing.  Really.  So that leaves  a few other options.

Around Christmas time, my mom shared a link on her Facebook page to a program on the Mormon Channel. 

Yup.  I am a LDS (aka “Mormon”) and quite happy with my life…

It was an interview with Ed and Lois Smart.  If you don’t remember, or just don’t know, their daughter was kidnapped from their Salt Lake City home in the middle of the night in May of 2000.  I was pregnant with Lynn, and my days were spent watching all the news I could about this horrible situation.  She was found, March of the next year.  Alive.

This interview was one of the first of the series “Enduring it Well”.  It was what got me hooked.

To listen to their story, what life was like while Elizabeth was missing all of those months was awe-inspiring.  I have listened to many of the interviews on that program since, have some to catch up on, and love what it does for me personally.

It gives me strength.  It gives me a positive way to spend my time here.

I have since become addicted (nearly) to another program “Conversations”.  LOVE the stories that are shared by so many. 

My favorite of all time (so far) is with Herbert Klopfer. He grew up in Nazi Germany.  His story gives me chills!!  His life was full of miracles throughout that time.  I dare you to listen to his interview and not cry..

Member or not, these stories will uplift and inspire.  They truly testify that there is a God, and He loves us all.

The coolest part, you can listen to them on your computer, or download them and listen to them wherever you want!  Makes other chores so much more enjoyable..

So while I try to fill my time doing good things, I also try to find ways to edify myself in the process.

A mish-mosh.

This is the beginning of what I am going to call, a “mish-mosh” post. 
It is going to be completely random, but wonderfully random.
Let the randomness begin!!
Last week (which means that I am a week overdue for posting this..) my dear friend Tiffany, sent me a fun package. 
(To tell you the truth, I think she is trying to make up for the time in second grade, when she wouldn’t pack me in her suitcase so I could stow-away on her family trip to Hawaii.  Shhhh!  Don’t tell her I’m onto it.)
(Wink, Wink.)
I was thankful for the mid-winter pick-me-up, not to mention the new-found motivation to bake something!!  Bake anything!!
Wouldn’t these inspire YOU to bake?

But that is not all…
Oh no, because it never is all for me…
I was tickled to read the small print on her tag:
“Thank you for supporting handmade!”

Loved it..
(Thanks again Tiffany!! xo)
My family was thankful for the cupcakes that these darling hot pads undoubtedly inspired.

(See..  you want some of those hot pads too, so you will have the sudden desire to make cupcakes..  am I right?  Or am I sooo right?)
The problem was (or shall I say IS), Peyton (bless her heart) loves these darling hot pads as well.  Forget the obviously “trying to be” hot pads that came with her toy pot and pan set this Christmas…  these are the real deal, and they are cute, face it!
(Have I mentioned how cute they are yet?!")
As soon as I finished with my little photo shoot with the darling hot pads, I set them aside while I mixed my cupcake batter.  I popped them into the oven hoping they might bake just a little faster than usual just so I could use the hot pads sooner.
Peyton had fun during the waiting period though.  She was baking a concoction of her own in her little kitchen, enjoying those darling hot pads.  When she got side tracked, I immediately retrieved my sweet hot pads, and returned them, lovingly, to their new home in my kitchen.  Then I proceeded to wait…
That was the most painfully painful 25 minute wait.
As the kitchen timer went off, the hot pads were nowhere to be found!  (Again.)
It was quite tragic that I had to resort to using the ugly “old” hot pads of mine, they were totally fine the day before, but now..  they weren’t so good.
As soon as those cupcakes were safely out of the oven, in a safe, cool place where they wouldn’t overcook and get all dry, I set out about finding those darling hot pads.
You’ll never guess where I found them..
Under Peyton’s pillow.
It’s a good thing there are two of them. ;)
Speaking of good things…  my friend Em is hosting an auction with some pretty sweet stuff on her blog this week.
Em had her son early and he just couldn’t stay here with us.  All funds raised will go directly to the March of Dimes.
We have all benefitted from this organization, let’s help support her team!
And the last random thing I can pull out of the air today would be that it is “Template Tuesday” at Digi Lovely.
Make sure you read all the great things that can happen to you when you download this FREE template, create with it, and share on Jessica Sprague.  I mean, really, great things.
Oh, P and S…  I am pretty sure the randomness just ended.
Post edit of epic proportions!!
I nearly forgot..
Okay, so I totally forgot.
Go to my friend Tiffany’s Etsy store and check out what other darling goodies she makes.
Support handmade!!!