Giggles & Gowns...

This photo session was sooo fun....What is more fun than beautiful gowns & old cars mixed together? Maybe the fact that these beautiful girls are my cousins and I absolutely love them and their mom... when ever all of us get together it's always a good time! Like I've mentioned in the past, this kind of photography is new to me...but I will tell you it's growing on me!It's like opening a birthday present every time I upload photo's to my computer...

I never know what I'm going to get....

hoping and praying I've captured something picture frame worthy...not to mention the fun I've been having learning new editing tricks...

but when you work with such beautiful girls, it's hard to have a bad photo!

so thank you girls for making my photo's look so beautiful!

Beauty & Inspiration...

have you ever found yourself on someone's blog reading....reading....reading....

until the next thing you know it has been like an hour...and you were suppose to start dinner and put the next batch of laundry in...but didn't because you couldn't pull yourself away....



well that's what I found myself doing this afternoon on Ness' blog she is SOOO talented...





if you haven't stopped by I highly suggest doing so...
you won't be disappointed!

even better, right now she's giving away 2 of these covers and some of her handmade tags...

so stop by her blog for a while, you will be mesmerized!

WINNER!!

Drum roll.....we have a winner of the star charm necklace! random.org has picked #92 which is...ALYSSA WARBY! Congratulations Alyssa!

Thanks again to everyone that entered it was a fun give-away!

Keep checking back, I love to share with everyone, so we will be doing more give-aways all the time!

~GIVEAWAY~

Giveaway's are always fun...right!

So in honor of my 100th fan on Facebook I've decided to do a drawing for one of my charm necklaces...this little beauty is hand beaded by yours truly.

I am amazed at the support on facebook...

I've only had a fan page for a short period of time and want to thank all of you wonderful women for such amazing support and all of the thoughtful comments you leave for me...Thank you!

There are 3 ways you can enter, #1 being a follower of this blog #2 leaving me a comment anytime between now & Tuesday morning on this blog #3 becoming a fan on Facebook.

Winner will be chosen Tuesday afternoon by an online random generator so GOOD LUCK!

And thanks again to everyone for your amazing support!

Spring Finds

Spring is on it's way...that is apparent today in our little town...the sun is shining and there is hope for a warmer future! Along with a new season also comes a re-newed appreciation, an appreciation for my father....an original "American Picker" I **LOVE** this History Channel show and it reminds me of my father in so many ways...

I remember as a young child, being on road trips through neighboring counties with my family, and my sister's & I being soo embarrassed about my father stopping at some random home and asking to purchase an antique he has spotted in their yard....not to mention stopping at EVERY yard sale, flea market, & thrift store hoping he might spot a great find...

In the past couple of years I have come to appreciate all of his great finds and only wish I was gutsy enough to ask a stranger about some antique lying around in their yard...so thanks dad for passing down your appreciation for antiques and junking!

one of my fathers greatest finds is this...

It is a McCaskey cash register manufactured in Alliance, Ohio in the 1920's

however this was not found at a flea market or yard sale...

my Great-Grandfather acquired this beauty in used condition for his pool hall he ran in the 1950's...in fact he ran his pool hall in an old building that was right across the street from where my boutique sits now...unfortunately the old building is now torn down but I like to think a bit of his history now lives on in his Great-Grand-Daughters boutique!

so THANKS DAD! for letting this beautiful piece grace the counter at my store...

Also gracing my counter are some fun Spring scrapbook supplies, so stop by and stock up for Spring!

Love+Photography=Bliss

I spent the afternoon yesterday with my sister Candis & her fiance Hyrum taking engagement pictures...

It was a barrel of fun! Here's the kicker, Hyrum is also my Brother-in-law...

he is my husband's little brother, so yes Candis will soon be my sister-in-law as well...are you confused yet? I am so excited for there union because our kids will be double cousin's...YAY!

If you know Hyrum he is hilarious...we were laughing all day and they were both such good sports!

This kind of photography is new to me, I haven't done alot of it...

I've always been more of an outdoor, scenery kind of photographer...

When I was young I thought I wanted to be a professional photographer, but like alot of small communities, I found that it didn't matter what you knew, but who you knew...and therefore was told I couldn't be in the yearbook class (to further my photography skills) because the teacher hand picked the yearbook staff and apparently there was no room for me, even after many failed attempts to express my love of photography...and at the time it was the only class our small 1A school offered that had anything to do with the art... so after that my confidence in my self as a photographer was shattered...

obviously since then I've moved on and have learned no one can take away something you feel very passionate about no matter how hard they try...
so for right now it's just a hobby.... I still have SOOO much to learn about the art...but it sure has been an enjoyable journey!

So thank you Candis & Hyrum for being such a cute and easy couple to photograph, it was a ton of fun!

this card is super easy...when I first thought of it, I wondered how I would mass produce 50 of these little beauties and make it an easy task? So I am sharing what I found to be an easy route to a super cute card!

first gather your supplies:

1 piece 12x12 plain cardstock for base~I used chocolate textured paper by Bazzill

1 piece 12x12 patterned paper~Shown is "Mama's Curtain" by my Mindseye
1 piece of scrap cardstock for insert

12x12 paper trimmer
1/2 yd matching ribbon
stamp with saying on it-I used "Celebrate" from Stampin Up!
stamp pad-used is chocolate from Stampin Up!
small brads
small glue dots
liquid chalk or distresser

adhesive-I use Zip Dry on EVERYTHING ~*LOVE IT*~

bone folder

1/16" hole punch

~then using your paper trimmer cut your plain cardstock into 3 strips that are 4"x 12"

then using your bone folder & paper trimmer score two lines onto one of your strips both at 4 inches like so...you will then have 3 different sections on your strip each measuring 4" ~if you are using textured cardstock make sure the textured side is down.

after doing this turn your strip so that the top corner of the middle section lines up with the bottom corner of side section along the cutting edge and cut as shown in picture below. Make sure you cut the top of both sides...

your finished base should look like this:
now you are ready to cut your triangles from your patterned paper...first cut a strip that is 3 1/2"x 12" now cut that strip into squares that are 3 1/2 x 3 1/2, you should have 3 that are the same size take your squares and line the corners up along the cutting edge as shown below, cut in half, whalaa, you have 2 perfect triangles! next adhere your triangles to flaps of base...they are slightly smaller to give it a mat look...and fold the edges on the scored line

now you are going to use glue dots to attach the flaps and seal the bottom of the card...for this project I cut 2 dots off of the roll, they are easier to use this way. **DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE DOTS WITH FINGERS** believe it or not I've had a lot of customers wondering why glue dots are so hard to use? If you apply dots directly from the roll to product , your day will be less frustrating! I used 2 glue dots per flap, attach dots and fold flaps over one another...

make sure to keep dots as close to bottom as possible to allow room for your insert...after finishing with glue dots, press firmly to assure closure...

now wrap ribbon around card pocket you have just finished and tie in a bow~you can decorate and embellish this little beauty to your hearts content~

next your going to make your insert...

I used a scrap piece of paper that was cut at 3 3/4" x 4 1/4" I then stamped "Celebrate" on the top of the insert

after stamping my desired saying on the top I used liquid chalk to distress the edges...

I found that using a 1/16 " hole punch to attach brads makes things A LOT easier, here I punched 2 holes in the upper left hand corner about a 1/2" apart...

attach brads and, whaalaa, your done!!

now you have a beautiful card to send off!you can make up to 4 of these cards out of 1 piece of plain cardstock and 1 piece of patterned paper...

~All products, papers, & supplies are available at my store Country Croppin~

Flakes & Flurries

I'm sitting in my office trying to keep my focus on the computer and not what it's doing outside...


Did I mention it has snowed for like a week straight here in the middle of nowhere???


I'm ready to scream!!!!! All winter I've counted down the days until I can be doing this....






Chilaxing by the fire and doing some serious camping!

I love the fact that when camping, it's the men's job to do the cooking (oh wait he cooks when were not camping too!)

And I'm yearning to be doing some of this....

Yes girls play in the mud too! And some of us LOVE it!! (hopefully the Easter Bunny brings me that Rhino I've been wanting for a while!!)

Not to mention, all the friends gathered around the horseshoe pit for a friendly game of horseshoes...

And you can't go camping without doing a little fishing...

So Mother Nature if you can hear me, please send good weather for Easter so I can enjoy some of these things that I've missed all Winter!

Ok, ok I already know what your thinking, "man can this girl get anymore redneck?" Well for those of you that can't appreciate kicking back and having a little fun once in a while because you might wrinkle your dress...I suggest getting down and dirty now and then! (*gasp* "did she just say that!") And for all of those redneck woman that can appreciate all of these things, don't be afraid to give a little shout out, leave me a comment, let me know what "redneck" adventures you like to do...

~ Also I will be posting new items in my Etsy this week so be sure to check it out!~

Some photo's provided by countryliving.com

Jewel in the Desert...

So my wonderful sister-in-law Andrea took me to Boulder City while visiting Las Vegas to check out all of these wonderful shops....This one is so amazing!! If you have never been to Goat Feathers, it is a MUST! I am so angry with myself for leaving my camera at the house and not capturing this quaint little shop (oh I shouldn't say little, it's huge!)! It will definitely be on the to do list next time we visit!