Merry Christmas to you and your family

"My whole life has turned around...I was lost but now I'm found"
This beautiful song says it all. I pray each of you has a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. After all, HE is the reason for the season...

“You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” John 18:37

Merry Christmas to you!

Snowman Ornament

I made several of these for gifts this year. I stamped the image on a transparency (cut in a circle) with StazOn ink and colored it. I used my embossing gun to set the ink. I curled it small enough to slide in the glass ball. It is held  in place with a piece of thread through the transparency and glued to the edge of the ornament. Last, I sprinkled some synthetic snow inside through a funnel. I think they came out quite cute. If I have enough time I'll make more.

Christmas blessings!

Tri Fold Shutter Card

This is my first attempt to make a tri fold shutter card and it was amazingly easy! It is for a special friend that is turning 60 the day after Christmas. This was a fun one to make! I think she will like it.

Another Glass Block

On this one I covered the entire block with etching cream then I made a stencil with my Cricut and painted the letters with Stickles. I think it came out pretty cute.

I made it for my friend at work, Miriam (or Mimi as we lovingly call her). She is a Brazilian mess! She has a shirt that has this quote on it and it fits her perfectly. I hope she enjoys it.

Etched Glass Block

I couldn't get a good picture of this to save my life. It is my first attempt at using the glass etching cream. I cut "LET IT SNOW" out with the Storybook cartridge and placed them on the clean block. I cut several snowflakes from a couple of other cart and placed them randomly around the phrase. I brushed the etching cream on with a foam brush and left it on for almost 30 minutes although the directions suggest 10. Rinsed it off with cool water and pulled the vinyl off. The photo doesn't show it but I glued (spray adhesive) a pretty piece of of Bo Bunny paper on the back to coordinate with the snowflakes and ribbon color. A 25 count strand of clear lighs looks very pretty inside. It is much prettier in person - I promise.

CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE 

New Blog Title

Same blog...New name.
 http://www.papermoose.blogspot.com/ . I like this name much better. Only bad thing with the change I lost all 21 of my followers as well as the blogs I followed. I'll get it all back in order soon! As I said, I like this name much better.

Snowman Invitation

I made these for my friend Darlene. She is hosting a Christmas dinner at her home and wanted to send out some special invitations. I was drawing a blank on my Christmas cards so I made these instead. I don't think I ever saw an ugly snowman but this guy is way cute! Now back to my Christmas Cards. I hope to have them done by Valentine's Day!

By the way...A quick word of thanks to our loving father in Heaven. My little brother went home today after 8 weeks in the hospital. He is still very weak and the trache is still in place but God has my sweet brother in the palm of his hand. He has something more in store for Jody and I can't wait to see what it is!

What's in a name?

Naming a blog is harder than naming a child! I have no regrets on the names I chose for my children but I can't say the same for my blog....I'm not even sure if I was thinking. After much thought and very little research, I have decided to change  my blog's URL. It appears that it can be easily done but Blogger's Blog (sounds funny!) doesn't advise it. They say I will lose any followers I have and all links to my blog will no longer be valid. They say most people regret it. I only have 18 followers so it would be easy enough to notify those people and I have nothing of importance linked to me so I doubt it will be much of a factor. Why am I wanting to rename it? Well, "Ritten By Robyn" was a bad choice mostly because of the spelling. Most intelligent people think it is "Written By Robyn" and the confusion goes on from there. I realize that I can simply rename my blog and keep the URL but I think I will be happier with both being the same.

So...I am giving you fair warning. I will be moving to a new address real soon. If you want to know where I am going, let me know in a comment and I will be sure to notify you when I make the switch.

Robyn

My New Friends

Meet my new friend Riley Moose! Isn't he cute? I am a moose fan and I especially love him because he he does lots of fun things. He will be featured in our family Christmas cards this year. The card below is inspired by a card on Splitcoast Stampers made by a sweet lady that goes by "Just Because".  She told me how she paper pieced Riley's comfy chair so I had to give it a whirl. What a fun technique! I will be doing more of this.

This is his girlfriend Sophie Moose enjoying a bubble bath. I colored both of them with my spankin new Copic markers and used Cinnamon Stickles for their antlers. CTMH Liquid Glass makes her bubbles look real.  I stamped "It's a Girl Thing" inside. I think this would make a nice Girlfriend card. Well, I had better get to bed. Two more days of work before I head to the Scrapbooking Factory to work on my Christmas cards. Gosh, I hope they turn out nice.

Snapware Cricut Cartridge Case

I made this carrier for my Cricut carts. I saw a company selling them at SDV this summer and I thought "I can make that!" Well, I did and it was quite a bit cheaper than the ones she was selling. I got the Snapware containers from The Container Store. They sell one large and one small and call it a ribbon organizer or something like that. I bought another set of the small omes 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I have the dimensions of the plastic mesh somewhere. If you are interested, let me know & I will find them and send them to you. The cartridge bin holds 40 carts and the large bin holds 20 books and overlays**. I put my cricut tools in the third bin.
I made one of these for Cheryl as well. I think she likes it!

**I went through my books and tore out all the pages that are not in English. It makes it so much easier when I am thumbing through them.

I hope I don't miss a thing!

I'm not sure if I can leave the blogs I love to stalk! What if someone posts something simply awesome (as they ALWAYS do) that I have to try and copy? This may be a tough trip to the mountains for me! Have a blessed weekend and save all the cool stuff till I get back!

I am taking my Copic markers with me to play with so maybe I will have some cool stuff to share when I get home. I know I have been a blogging dud lately and I am sorry. I promise to do better.

God's Grace ~

Today has been such an uplifting day for me, I just had to share this with you. First of all, a friend from work, Todd Reineck, who bravely battled pancreatic cancer and passed last week had a memorial service today and it was simply beautiful. I couldn’t help but smile as I thought of him in heaven with his big grin feeling none of the pain or distress that he carried here on earth. Todd was all about Jesus! I can only hope I’d be able to handle myself as he did as he waited for God to call him to his new home in heaven. What an inspiration he was in that aspect.

I went to Methodist hospital at lunch time to see Jody. He is still in ICU but I am thrilled to say the little stinker is breathing on his own! As sick as he has been, only God could have made this happen. Jody is such a fighter and his blue eyes have more life in them than I have seen in the last 5 weeks. They may be removing the trache as soon as this weekend depending on his progress. Jody may be mentally impaired but he knows Jesus. I continue to remind myself daily that God’s timing is perfect and He will continue to work on me and my family until it is our time to leave this world. His miracles are very evident to me today and I am very grateful. We serve such a loving, kind and amazing God and He does have a plan for all of us...Thank you Father for loving us and knowing what is best for us even when we do not!!

Thank you for the continued prayers for Jody – God hears everyone of them.

Pardon the Dust

I am attempting to remodel my blog. I am educating myself in HTML code to change my blog to 3 columns. So far, no luck. What a yawner this is. I don't know why Blogger doesn't have a 3 column template to begin with. I find HTML code boring and intimidating. Stick with me and hopefully I will have something pretty to look at soon. I also have a new title coming soon but I have some header work to do.

Some Encouraging News

Tuesday morning at 8:30, Dr. Bell performed a tracheostomy on my brother Jody. After having a tube in his throat for almost a full month he was growing weaker as the days went by. Last Sunday, I spent some quality time with Jody and he cried an awful lot. It was so difficult to stay with him as he tried to call out in pain but couldn't. I sang to him a lot and prayed over him. Then Monday evening I went in to see him and he looked so peaceful it was almost scary. Every other visit I have felt very connected with his big blue eyes and felt like I could sort of read his emotions. Not Monday. He was curling more into a fetal position and was all surrounded by white pillows and his eyes just looked off into space. He would make eye contact with me but I couldn't get a "read" from him. I decided it must be peace he was feeling and thought maybe Jesus was finally going to take him to his heavenly home. The nurse was very rude and made me angry more than once. After I was there for more than an hour, another nurse came in and they started talking about "the procedure" he would have in the morning. I was taken by surprise to learn that my father had signed a consent form to have him trached. I cried all the way home and was fearful this would end up being a bad thing for him.

As afraid as I was yesterday, I gathered enough courage and strength to go see him. I remember my mother being on a ventilator before her death and I wasn't loking forward to seeing my sweet little brother the same way. I was very surprised to see how much better he looked. He was a little more awake than before and tired to talk a couple of times. (that made him very agitated). He was attempting to scratch his forhead but I noticed he had no use of his fingers and was only able to use the back of his hand. He was still curling up in the fetal position while I was there. I left him not knowing what to think. I noted he looked more comfortable but I could not say I thought he looked better.

What a difference 24 hours makes. Mike and I went up at lunch time today and he was much straighter in bed and very alert. I handed him a photo and he was able to grasp it pretty well with his fingers and he was able to nod yes and no. He was so happy to see Mike, he hardly noticed I was there. I hope and pray the doctors are able to get him off the ventilator soon.  I don't want him to have to learn how to live with a breathing tube coming out of his throat. Jody loves to talk and it will make him so sad if he can't talk anymore. The doctor said this will be his best shot at getting off the ventilator. So far so good. Thanks be to our Loving God!  I know He is in control and has Jody's future all planned out. This boy just may have some more important work to do for God before He calls him home. He is in charge and we are not.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~Jeremiah 29:11

My comfy chair

I got a piece of fleece from Hobby Lobby to throw over a super ugly chair I had in my scrapbook room. I am in love with the chair now! It was a comfy chair before, just ugly. Now it is SUPER comfortable and I love to sit in it and read or watch TV or just veg out. It is even a good napping chair. The pink and brown is a perfect fit for my scrapbook room. I'm such a lucky girl.

Card Therapy Maybe?

Life has been pretty overwhelming lately. My loveable younger brother, Jody has been hospitalized for the past month in very critical condition. Only God knows what His plans are for Jody but I feel like he is so close to going to heaven and I get excited for him. He has endured so much pain in his 44 years but always manages to smile and he is all about love. He has done some important work for God here on earth and I anxiously wait for God to take him home where he will be free from his broken earthly body and rest peacefully in the arms of Jesus. With that going on (and dealing with being sick myself - I'm all better now!) I have not had the time or the desire to even go into my room and be creative. Yesterday was a very emotional day. I cried for hours and after I was finished I wanted a distraction so I went upstairs for about an hour and whipped up a couple of cards for my special co-worker friends. I think they came out rather nice considering I had no plan. I needed the time up there to clear my head and I believe I may do a little more tomorrow!  

I'm Still Kickin'

Let me see, life has been rather busy lately so the only scrapping I have done is in my mind. I started getting a cold last Monday and by Thursday I was coughing my head off. Thursday morning me and 42 of my best sister's in Christ headed up to beautiful Kerrville to set up for the Women's Fall STARS retreat. 37 women arrived that evening and then the fun began! We spent 3 long action packed days getting closer to Christ. What a great experience it was (again)!! I love this ministry so much!

By the time we got home, my sinuses were beginning to hurt and I had an awful kink in my neck. I called the doc yesterday and went to see her. She gave me a good shot of steroids and an antibiotic. I am feeling so much better. I am trying to stay on the "down low" so I can get rid of this.
Unfortunately I haven't been home before 10:00 all week. Some rest will do me good.

I hope to get rested and healthy and do some more scrapping and posting in the next few days. Wish me luck!

Boo Book

I got this mini book out of a clearance bin while we were in Florida. I think it is 5"x7". All of the inner pages are covered with paper from a DCWV Halloween mini paper pack.

                           This little guy is my boyfriend! I had such a fun time with the Paper Doll Dress Up Cartridge! A definite favorite cartridge

                                                                    

This house is from Stretch Your Imagination .

 Look at his little shoes!    

I have no idea why my pictures are all over the place. I don't think Blogger is my friend any more. I always get a headache when I want to put more than one photo in a post. Hmmm. What's a girl to do?

BOO!

I got these letters  for $1 at JoAnn Fabrics and painted them black and put paper on top with Mod Podge. I have no idea what I am going to do with them but they were fun to make!

Blah Blog

While looking for a new fall background tonight, I decided I need to rename my hum drum Ritten by Robyn. Every time I type it I feel uneasy mispelling a word intentionally. Now, don't get me wrong, I have no issues with the everyday typos for which I am very familiar with. But I like to use proper spelling when at all possible. I have a few ideas for a new title but nothing firm so stay tuned to see what I come up with. I am also open to suggestions.

I will post some handmade goodies this weekend. I have had a blah week and still haven't unpacked from last weekend's crop. Maybe it is my blah blog's fault.

Vintage Birthday Card

I call this my MagicWanda Knock off! :o) Wanda makes these cool vintage cards all the time so I decided to try my hand at one.  It is 6x6 and it is mostly made from scraps I had from other projects. I kind of like the little thing! I probably should have put more "stuff" on it but sometimes I get afraid of overdoing it. I have noticed the vintage cards are a little on the gaudy side so I will step "outside the box" a little more next time. Susan liked it and said it was "her". Happy Birthday , Susan!

Graduation Album for Carol

I made this album for Carol, our foreign exchange student from Brazil that lived with us in 2000. She is a beautiful girl as you can see by the pictures. She also has a beautiful heart. It was very difficult for her to be away from her home but she wanted to experience our culture and strengthen her ability to speak English. She always had a smile on her face and kept her chin up on the days she was missing home. I wasn't always as kind to her as I wanted to be. It was a very difficult time in my life. My Mother became ill and died while Carol was here and she was a huge help to Mike and I and the kids.  I know it was difficult for her being so far away from home and experiencing my mothers death. I'm sure it made her miss her mother even more. She returned again a couple of years later with both of her parents and a group from church. They were here for the LCMS National Youth gathering and stopped for a few days in SanAntonio. It was neat to have her back for a  visit and to meet her mom and dad.  Carol turned 27 last month and graduated from law school a year ago. She sent us some photos and I had them printed and put an 8x8 album together for her.

I left the journaling spots blank for her to write what she chooses on them.

I also left some blank pages for her to add her own photos or possibly an invitation or program .

Carol, I know you read my blog....I will be putting this in the mail the first week of October. (I have to take it to show it to a friend.) Act real surprised when it arrives!! I am sorry it took so long but I hope it was worth the wait. I love you and hope to see you again one day soon.