Howdy folks!

A very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

It’s been a little on the cold side here today although the temps didn’t think it was that cold (18F) but there was a nasty wind & when I went out to water & check on the animals I thought my nose was going to freeze off.

Thankfully it is warm & toasty in here tonight & I just wanted to let you know of our one day sale that has just started. It is only on for 24 hours - New Year’s Day - but during that time you can get 10% off EVERYTHING on the store - online orders only.

While you are having fun shopping we have to stocktake. Thankfully this is only a once a year job so can’t really complain.

Once again HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2008 be a good one for you all.

Liz

WOW! There are 260 of you biting at the bit, wanting to get a hold of this new Thomas Kinkade stamp so I’d better pick a winner fast. Well I went to Random.org to do it for me & the winner is:

#244 - Barb!

CONGRATULATIONS!

It was fun to read all your comments on Mary Poppins & Julie Andrews. Truly a wonderful movie & a wonderful actress. Thanks for making it all so much fun. I will give away another of the new releases next week. In the meantime have a great rest of the weekend.

Liz

No, Richard & I haven’t started taking jig lessons although yesterday was 24 years since Richard first asked me out

Here is Jigs & Roxy:

Jigs came to play the other day because his owner was sick. Jigs is a Pug and isn’t fixed. In fact he has just become a daddy. He took a great interest in Roxy & Bella who were not at all amused. It was hilarious to watch him. Roxy was big enough to ward off his advances easily. Poor Bella got very fed up with him. I have never heard her growl at anything but growl at Jigs she did. Poor girl couldn’t sit even down.

Michael took Jigs home in the evening & said he wasn’t too pleased!

Bella goes to the Post Office EVERY day. It is SO funny. She sits in the front seat of the van looking so proud. Well of course now the ladies at the Post Office know so every day Daniel gets his treat & they also give him two dog biscuits for Bella. He puts them in his pocket & then when he gets back to the van gives them to Bella. One of the joys of living close to a small town & great community where you can get to know folks & vice versa.

Hope you all have a great weekend,

Liz

Yes I know we are in the midst of winter but “A Perfect Summer’s Day” is the title of one of the new Thomas Kinkade releases coming up.

And now is your chance to win one. Just answer this question correctly & your name will be entered into the random drawing:

What is the name of the actress who played Mary Poppins? (That is one of my favorite movies & I have been singing some of the songs these last couple days so I think it is time to dig it out & watch it again.)

Anyway, happy guessing although I am pretty sure all you will know the answer

Thanks,

Liz

Hi folks!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We had a very relaxing day. The kids were not up too early - 8am so that was nice. They all enjoyed their presents although Hannah is still a bit young to understand.

We enjoyed our Roast Turkey dinner with all the trimmings at lunchtime - Roast potatoes, bread sauce, Brussel sprouts, Peas, Carrots, Cauliflower & Gravy. Very yummy. Of course there was some left over so Michelle & I enjoyed it for dinner also - the guys wanted something else. I did go out in the afternoon & water the animals etc & then took a walk around the field. Later we played a marathon game of Rook - the guys won in the end but it was close. We were going to watch a movie in the evening but Richard got called out on an ambulance call so Michelle & I did a crossword & played Set. Michael watched a movie that we didn’t want to.

Today we had friends over for lunch & they taught us a new game - Back Alley Bridge. Guys won one, gals won the other.

SO where are the piglets coming from? You all had great guesses & some of you also did your research. WOW! Well the answer is Missouri! They are coming from Wolfe Mountain Farms - just click the link if you want to find out more & see some great pics.

So who is the winner?

#14 - Tyrymom

Congratulations!

I’ll be back in a bit with another TK giveaway.

Liz

HI all!

Have a very Merry Christmas. May your day be a blessed one as you celebrate the greatest gift of all.

Yes I suddenly realized that I haven’t picked a winner for the Thomas Kinkade stamp but it’s late now & I have some children that will be up early in the morning eager to open up their presents so I will have to do it another day.

I’ll be back later in the week.

Take care,

Liz

My evening didn’t go quite as planned last night so I never did get around to posting Tami’s great project. BUT believe you me it is worth the wait.

Tami created this week’s project using the Supah Star Set from the Kim Hughes collection.

Put your feet up & “listen” to what Tami did:

For this project I chose a photo of my daughter playing around for the camera. It is one I would not have normally used since I couldn’t see her face but I decided to create a fun and dramatic design.

I removed the color from a photo, darkened the image and printed it onto Prism White Polish paper.

I used the Ranger Pen Nibs and Clearsnap Ancient Page inks to color the image focusing on her blue eyes and hair.

This technique is great if you want a tinted look and don’t want to use a computer imaging program. It also would be wonderful with old family photos.

From there Tami created this card using the Lined Paper Backgrounder & the Supah Star Set:

Supplies:

Cardstock: Ocean, Onice, Vibrant Pink (new for CHA-W), White Polish (Glossy paper for photo) (Prism)

Stamps: Lined Paper backgrounder, Supah Star Set

Cut n Dry pen nibs (Ranger)

Ink: Saffron, Neptune, flamingo, Melon (Clearsnap Ancient Page)

Other: American Crafts Rub ons, Stickles, Heidi Swapp Gems, Creative Impressions ribbon and metals.

Isn’t this fabulous? Feeling inspired? Don’t have the Supah Star Set? For the next 24 hours you can purchase the Supah Star set at $5.00 off for only $19.99! Offer ends Friday midnight, December 21st.

Happy stamping!

Liz

… that CHF has its own private ice skating rink? We can accommodate up to 200 people at a time. You need to bring your own ice skates & you’d better wear some warm clothes!

Have you guessed by now that I’m talking “outside!” LOL!

I don’t know about you but I love to go against the grain & do things that aren’t always the norm. For 9 mths of the year we constantly warn our little ones to stay away from the river & the slough as they are dangerous (deep water). BUT for the other 3mths of the year there is a thick layer of ice on both & I just LOVE to walk on the water, so to speak.

This afternoon Daniel, the dogs & I took a walk down the field to the slough. (It was in the 40’s today so we have had a thaw.) Don’t panic though, the ice is still at least 12″ thick & I am not kidding you. Daniel & I had fun walking along it. He was fascinated with the ice. It never ceases to “wow” me that I am walking where normally I can’t go - amongst the reeds & bulrushes & seeing all the animal tracks wondering if they are all hibernating or watching us from a distance. Daniel is not the quietest of children so when he’s down there, there’s not much chance of seeing any critters.

I was sad that I didn’t take my camera but next time I will. We enjoyed our walk - good to get out & relax for a bit. The moon was high & the sun was setting so that was weird.

Coming up later this evening is a project from Tami Mayberry who’s been playing with photos this week.

Take care,

Liz

Gosh I know I’ve been quiet but in reality we are REALLY busy but life on the farm is quiet this time of year. Snow is still on the ground & all the animals are just glad to get fresh water every day that hasn’t turned to ice. Of course the cows & goats like to have their hay.

We did hear this week about our new piglets. We have been on the waiting list for nearly 6mths waiting for a breeding pair of Large Black Pigs. Large Blacks are a rare breed of pig that feed mainly on pasture. They do not dig up the ground & are very friendly, intelligent & apparently even learn their names. ANYWAY this week we learned that our piglets will be ready on January 16th so not too far away.

It’s been a while since I gave some blog candy so let’s have some fun!

Which state (US) are we flying these piglets in from? I’ll give you clue - it’s not Montana! LOL! So take a guess & I’ll pick a name from the winners to win one of the brand new Thomas Kinkade images set for release in early January! So yes, if you guess right you will get to play with these stamps before anyone else (except our designers of course!) Here’s The Rose Garden, one of 4 great new releases coming soon.

Happy guessing! I’ll pick a winner later in the week.

I took this pic yesterday morning. Everything was covered in a thick white frost. SO beautiful.

Today a Chinook blew through here so the snow has melted a little but there’s still quite a bit left. It was nice to have the temps just above freezing.

Coming up next is a great scrapbook page by Lesley so make sure you check that out.