Merry Christmas...

from our Family to yours...

xoxox

The McKameys

Goin' Digital?

Well, Sunshine Studio makes it super easy and super Gorgeous!
Check out this new design 'Enchanted'!

The designs available from Sunshine are amazing! Check them out!

xoxo
Csmoferret

Spellbinders is looking for a new Design Team!

Check out the Contest Entry Requirements here. I love Spellbinder products and will be looking through my stash to see what I can make to submit for the contest. I mean, it doesn't hurt to try, right? : )

Check out their blog for more info.

xoxo
Csmoferret

Journal Your Christmas

Okay,
I'm a few days late with this but I am working on journaling
every day during December. Since it is my favorite time of year
(School lets out, Christmas, Birthday, New Years, etc) I decided
I would like to create a record of the happenings and excitement
that usually get forgotten once the Carol Candlelight Service is
over and the gifts have all been opened. With this in mind, I
signed up for Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas.

I am looking forward to looking back at what happened this
month from a different perspective!
Just thought I would share!
xoxo
Csmoferret

Inspired by Maria's Blog Candy!!!

Maria Bell is offering Blog Candy to celebrate
her 2nd Blog-aversary. Check it out here.

xoxo
Csmoferret

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We celebrated here at home with InLaws and Friends. Turned out to be a wonderful day of visiting and getting to know everyone. No pictures of the adults but here is a photo of the twins with their Flat Stanley friends ...Flat Page and Flat Alien...

Here is our Formal Dinner Setting - with Gigi in her 'Place of Honor'. She didn't move from that spot all day long and is still there as I write this!
This is an upclose of the center piece. I used a candle holder and filled it with some acorn and pine cone ornaments. Then I used some leaf plates for relish trays (they weren't filled yet in this picture) and filled in with ornamental gourds and mini pumpkins.

I wish I had gotten a photo of the buffet on the counter next to the
computers and the adults that were here. We had a very nice time.
Another thing to be Thankful for!
Hope you and yours have had a wonderful day!
xoxo
Csmoferret

Bake Sale...

Today is Grandparent's Day at the Twins' Elementary School. Since they are
encouraged to eat lunch with the kids in the cafeteria the PTO decided to have
a bake sale. This is the first time since the twins started school that I have gotten to bake something for them to take to school. The school district we are part of had a rule against homemade goods. Everything had to be store bought. They changed that rule about 2 weeks ago. Needless to say, I went a little crazy with the baking! These are just a few of the cookies and breads I made for them to sell today.







Hmmmmm I think I might need to make some more of that Pumpkin Bread for lunch.
The house sure smelled good yesterday. Definitely starting to feel like the Holidays!
xoxo
Csmoferret

ETA: They sold absolutely everything and made $700!!! Way to go PTO!

Free Organization Labels...

Making Memories is offering a free download of Organization Labels.
Go here to read about it.

xoxo
Csmoferret

Let's Say Thanks!

This is a free service from Xerox. Pick your card from the line up, choose a message, and click send. That's all it takes to send a greeting to members of the Armed Forces. Take a minute or two to send one and then pass on the information to a friend (or several friends!)
xoxo
Csmoferret

More Quilts to win!!!

Dana at Old Red Barn Co.com is giving away these three beautiful
quilts to a randomly selected post/visitor on her blog. Can you blame
me for adding these gorgeous photos to my blog for a few extra chances?

eta: the contest is over but the video entries were hilarious! Check it all out at Dana's blog
address above.

xoxo,
Csmoferret

Inspiration Found!

I made this frame at a Stampin' Up class/crop this weekend and I have come up with so many different ways I could use the same idea for gifts and holiday decor! I think the Christmas Designer Paper set would make a smashing Christmas/Advent Calendar (just use a sticker or magnet to mark the day on the glass of the picture frame.) This project would also make terrific house warming, wedding, birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparent's Day or Christmas gifts! See? So many great ideas!

I love the Stampin' Up paper set (Summer Home? I threw out the title sheet that came with it after using it for scratch paper for another project.) that I chose to use. I had no idea it came with so many stickers and design elements! The colors are much nicer in person - for some reason the photos are very washed out even with Photoshop color corrections!

The fun part of this, for me, was deciding what to highlight in the little squares. I didn't have any small photos or even photos I wanted to crop to the correct size for this so I used letter brads with our initials. I also used a felt flower and a skeleton leaf that one of the ladies attending shared with all of us. The colors are a meld of the pre-flood colors that were around our home and the post-flood colors that we have chosen to redecorate with. I think this will hang on the wall just inside our bedroom door, but I haven't decided yet. It might wind up on our family picture wall in the hall for everyone to see. I do need to add a bit more adhesive to a couple of the squares, though! Next time I won't be so timid about putting it all together.

xoxox
Csmoferret

Win this Quilt...

I just found this wonderful blog - where the details for a drawing for this beautiful quilt are listed.

Lizzy Anne has designed a gorgeous brown and yellow quilt and is giving it away! Can you believe it? Yellow is my favorite color! So, I had to add a button to my sidebar and post about this give away. edited: I removed the button because the contest is over but you can still visit Lizzy Anne's blog at the link above.

Go check out her blog (by clicking on the button on the left) and leave a comment for your chance to win an original designer quilt!
xoxo
Csmoferret

Living Inspired...

Donna Downey has started a campaign to encourage everyone to live an
inspired life everyday.

I have added a button at the top left of my blog that will take you right to
her post explaining the campaign.

I'm inspired! Are you?

xoxo
Csmoferret

I {heart} PeachyCheap.com!!

I have been enjoying a new shopping experience with a website that offers
only one item for sale each day. These items are scrapbooking and
cardmaking related and are available for sale for only one day at a very
low price! At midnight, they are no longer available and another cool,
extremely well priced product is listed.

Brooke at PeachyCheap.com has sold 7 Gypsies photo carousels, Fancy
Pants Gateway albums, SEI album in a weekend kits, chipboard sets,
vinyl stickers, Daisy D's Fall and Halloween kits and embellishments just
to name a few. You have to shop early because things have a tendency
to sell out and if you see something you want you need to purchase right
then, because it won't be available the next day.

Everything is first quality and listed at a significant 25-99% discount.
Shipping is $4.99 and your purchase ships within 2 to 3 days.
Check out her frequently asked questions page here.

Click on the button at the left on my blog to take you right to the
Deal of the Day and enjoy cheaper scrapbooking
supplies - one day at a time!!

xoxo
Csmoferret

My Studio Calico RAK arrived...

today!! What a cool selection of acrylic stamps, a stamp block, an acrylic album
and journaling stickers!! So much fun to find goodies like this in the mail!




Thank you Studio Calico!! You made my week!
xoxo
Csmoferret

It's Framed!!

I finally found a cute frame for the Coffee Cup punch needle piece I made
a couple of weeks ago! I searched all of the usual haunts for frames (Michaels,
Hobby Lobby, Joanns, World Market, Pier 1, Target, Bealls, Kmart and
finally WalMart.) I found this frame in an embroidery kit on the clearance aisle
at WalMart! Perfect fit, perfect colors, perfect price!

I even recycled the embroidery kit the frame came with and
sent it, along with a whole bunch of other stuff, to a group that
needed crafty things to work on.

I love the way it turned out. I hope my friend does too.
More later,
xoxo
Csmoferret

Not so Haunted House....

I received my Vintage Haunted House kit from Jennifer Stewart 's
Etsy Shop in the mail today!! It was perfect timing! I sat right down and
worked on it. It took a couple of hours but it was just the creative project I needed!

I did get frustrated with the jute rope that was supposed to go on the fronts of the picket fence pieces but I decided, after accidentally gluing both hands to the jute, I could always hand draw the ropes or use embroidery floss and weave it around the pickets if I really felt the need to.

I also used the lighter side of the double sided paper and I like the contrast of the black edges. The lighter color made it look a little sweeter and less haunted but the "foggy mists" around the edges and the ghost waving from the side window leave no doubt that this house is haunted!

I love the little electric tea light that comes with this kit! Sooo cute!
It adds just the right amount of spookiness when the room is dark!

It's a bit early for Halloween decor but it's going on the mantel tonight!
Now, I'm inspired to get out all the Halloween decorations and let the kids
help put them up - they were home on Thursday and Friday for Hurricane Ike
preparations and now, it feels like the weekend is a month long!! I think
decorating is just the thing they need to help with tomorrow!

We are so lucky that Hurricane Ike passed us up and our prayers
and best wishes and hope for a speedy clean-up go to all of the people
who are dealing with the aftermath of the storm.

xoxo
-Csmoferret

Mandarin Pixie Stamp Company is going out of business...

Visit their website to check out their final inventory at awesome prices ($.50 to $4!)

Click this link to go there now!

It's sad to see another company going out of business but I do enjoy the stamps I purchased
from them a while back!

XOXO
Csmoferret

Never Forget....

Daisy D's Update...

I heard Daisy D's was going to close in August and sent that information out to all of my Scrappin' and Cardmakin' Friends. Sooo I thought I would share this update I just read on Sharon Hodsdon's blog.

---^--@

Sharon writes...."A while back I reported here about the apparent closing of Daisy D’s. I had spoken to some folks over there to confirm it, which they did, and well, I got this email today that I wanted to share with you all here…. I sincerely hope that someone steps up to the plate and buys this amazing company. I have always loved their paper but, more so, the folks that work for and own the company. Not only are they community oriented, they are avid supporters of those of us who teach. I am forever indebted to the Daisy D’s folks and wish them continued success and a bright future. Please spread the word.

Daisy D’s Update We have had many phone calls from consumers and customers wanting to know what is happening at Daisy D’s? Well here is the scoop from the “horses mouth”…. The first week of August we announced that we are not printing A Village Market and Once Upon A Holiday. We featured these at CHA Summer along with Chloe Marie. If that didn’t stir things up enough, staff members were telling customers we were closing at the end of August. Now it is September 9th and we are still here.

The current owners have decided to not design any new product and try to sell the company. While we are looking for interested parties we are selling the inventory of all the collections that we have produced over the years until they are gone. We are not in a big hurry and hope to find someone who would like to continue on with the daisy d’s name and continue the “daisy d’s” look. If we do not find anyone who is interested in taking over, we will close. For now we are fulfilling our orders and plan on having great sales through the rest of the year and into 2009. If our timeline changes we will update everyone. We appreciate all your support and comments we have received and hope we will have good news to spread in the future. "

---^--@ Thank you Sharon for keeping us informed about this terrific company!! @--^---

If you had a chance to see the new lines "Once Upon A Holiday" and "A Village Market" you too would feel the pain of lost opportunities! These were gorgeous paper lines that were really elegant.

The sale of this company is a great opportunity for someone who wants to break into the Scrapbooking MarketPlace because Daisy D's brand name is so well known and already available in most scrapbook stores.

Spread the word to your Scrapbookin' friends, may be they will become the new owners and continue the fine products we have enjoyed from Daisy D's!!
xoxo
Csmoferret

I won a prize from Gypsy Rose Paperie!!!

They hosted a 5 day long Blog Scavenger Hunt that was a lot of fun. We had to read the clues, check out the blogs and find the answers and then email them in and keep our fingers crossed we were chosen from the other right answers!

And guess what?... I was chosen for the Day 3 answers!! Yippeee!!
I got an email saying I had won a sampling of lace and other goodies! I can hardly wait to get the mail and show it to you!!

They have some very dramatic kits that will be available for sale on 9/15 and have been giving 'strip-teases' or 'sneak peaks' of them all month long. A very cool company with a very clever sense of humor, beautiful kits and lots of vintage ephemera downloads! Check them out here.

xoxo
Csmoferret

Sweet Life in the Valley is giving away Heather Bailey Trash Ties!

Go to this link and sign up to win some!!

Trash Ties have been the easiest way to put Caitlin's hair up without a whole lot of fuss. In fact, she will be wearing Trash Ties in her hair for her school picture (we've been playing with hairstyles this week!) and I think the style will hold all day (if she leaves the ties in) and will be adorable for her school picture!

I like the fact you don't have to pull them out of your hair, you just unfold them and they come out so easy. Ponytail holders always break her hair and because she is in gymnastics she has to wear a ponytail frequently. The Trash Ties hold her hair for gymnastics and don't cause any breakage. That means no tears after practice is over and that is super big!

Go check out Sweet Life in the Valley's blog and sign up to win some Trash Ties (and tell April I sent you! )
xoxo,
Csmoferret

Painted Wine Goblets...

I painted these goblets at the local Creative Arts Center for my Honey and I.
They were bisqueware that I painted and then had glazed and fired. The polka
dots continue all the way around the rest of the goblets with only the space
for the initials. The owner has a goblet that is orange, green, black and purple
that was my inspiration for these. I have admired hers for a couple of years
and finally decided to make some for us! Love how they came out!
They are lots of fun to use, too!

-Csmoferret

I won a Studio Calico prize!

I can't believe it! They randomly drew names from the comments and mine was chosen!!

Wahoo! I guess I can't say 'I don't win anything' anymore!! : ) Yippeee!!

Check out their website here and the announcement that I was the winner here.


What a cool way to start September!!
-Csmoferret

Yummmm...

I saw a picture on a food blog (can't find the blog or the photo now, but I will post it when I find it) of a hot dog with cheese and jalapeno slices on a grill. Well, that image stuck with me since this Labor Day weekend was prime hot dog grill time. Soooo, I decided we would risk it and wing the recipe. I mean, how hard can it be? Well, not hard at all! This photo is actually the second time we had these for dinner! The first time we used ties from the ice tea bags (talk about going green!) to tie the hot dogs to keep all that cheesy goodness from falling into the grill but the second time we had kitchen twine.

This was super easy to make and oooooh so good! I used pre-shredded mild cheddar cheese, sliced fresh garden jalapenos, and Ball Park Deli Style Grill Master Beef Franks. Slice the dogs lengthwise but not all the way through, pile in some grated cheese, stand up the slices of jalapeno, add some more cheese to both sides of the peppers (so they stay in place) and then tie with the twine so they don't come open on the grill. Then lay them on the pre-heated grill along the grate so they are supported and don't roll. Once the cheese is almost melted you can turn them across the grill and lean them against each other for grill marks on the sides. Truthfully, that step isn't really all that necessary but it does allow for more browning of the hot dog sides. It all depends on how you like your hot dogs grilled.

Gently cut the strings off and add them to prepared hot dog buns ( we like a stripe of ketchup and mustard along the sides, but use what you like) and enjoy. Oh so yummy!! Beware, you may never look at plain hot dogs the same again!

Enjoy!
-Csmoferret

Punch Needle Coffee ...

is almost as addictive as the real thing!!! Who knew??

I started this Dimensions pattern last night just before midnight and worked on it a couple of hours. Started it up again this afternoon and finished it up before dinner! I wish I had realized how fast punch needle patterns work up! I would have been punchin' like a crazy woman! Wow! This was so much fun!



The cool part is you work from the back so you can see the line design and then the finished
project is line free! I took this photo after about 3 hours of work. Then 3 hours later, I was
all done! (see the top photo) So easy, so fast! Love this!

Off to iron the hoop ring out so I can frame it for a friend's kitchen!
More later!
-Csmoferret

I'm mentioned on Donna Downey's Video Blog!!

Seriously! I couldn't believe it! Talk about making me smile!! Wow!

About a quarter of the way into her video blog she answers a portion of a question I had and directs me to contact Bill. Sooo cool to be mentioned like that! Check it out on YouTube right
here. Then check out her website and blog here.

Love ya Donna & Bill!!!

-Katherine

Check out the 10K Blog Candy @ Craftling's Cosy Corner!!

Christine is celebrating 10,000 visitors to her blog and has a drawing going. Go check it out here. What a wonderful list of goodies for someone to win! Congrats Craftling for 10,000 visits in 4 months!!

Also - she has posted a plea to all bloggers to turn off the word verification attached to comments. I don't have any comments on my blog, yet, since I just started it up today, but
I think I will go ahead and leave that off. I have been frustrated with illegible letters and figures
while trying to leave a comment on other blogs and I don't think I want anyone saying that of
their experience with my blog. While I understand how some feel about security, I also see her point. Go check out what she has to say here.

More later,
-Csmoferret

It all started with a pair of ferrets...

...Welcome to my Blog!!

Way back when, there were 2 adorable ferrets, Calvin & Suzy! They were the beginning of the inspiration for my online persona. 10 years later, there were 2 more ferrets, Oreo & Milkyway...they completed what the first 2 had started and so Csmoferret was born. That was 9 years ago. I have enjoyed remembering my furbabies while adding comments to blogs and emailing friends. Now, I am sharing them with you via my blog! Corny, I know, but I'm that way. Probably good that you know that now. : )

Thanks for visiting! Check back for more interesting posts and, hopefully, pictures!
-Katherine aka Csmoferret!