Dawn K Homeschool

http://pinefeather.typepad.com/pine_is_here/ Great cards! You've really got to check these out.

Using this random # generator: http://www.random.org/integers/ Laughing Lioness is the winner!

Please tell me what possessed me to buy so much patterned ribbon? Sure, it's cute, but I never reach for it! Ribbon is usually the last thing I add to a card, so I'm usually reaching for a solid color or perhaps gingham or polka dot. Last night, I challenged myself to use up some of that ribbon! The first card I made used only a portion of a roll, but the set of pink and red cards used up the rest of a roll. Lesson learned. No more buying of patterned ribbon! This card was difficult to do, as I had a hard time choosing the color scheme and what stamp would coordinate. I chose a set of A Muse stamps. Both were from A. C. Moore -- the image was 40% off and the sentiment was clearanced for $2.00. I also used my Nestabilities. These cards were all made with Stampin Up! "A Light Heart" set and one Studio G dollar acrylic set ("Now and Forever"). Sometimes I like making little cards for those around-the-house sort of card-givings.

I was separating my Studio G Dollar Thanksgiving and Christmas clear stamps and putting them in CD cases last night. I realized I had two of one stamp set and a little stamp "Don't Be a Turkey" that I will never use. I thought I'd put them on my blog as a give-away. Leave a comment on any of posts by Monday at midnight EST and I will randomly draw a winner's name.

I used my "You're Neat" set from Stampin' Up! for the first time last night. I just love these little guys. The "Happy Birthday" sentiment is from a Studio G dollar acrylic stamp set.

I am still making cards with sheets of scrap paper -- I like saving my large sheets for scrapbooking. The little onesie is actually part of a "card on a string" I bought at Target a while back. I just cute each individual card off the string to use on cards. The circle stamp is a dollar stamp from Michaels -- it originally had a spring sentiment inside the circle image, but I cut it out with my X-acto blade. The sentiment is a Studio G dollar acrylic stamp. Same Studio G dollar acrylic stamp and Imaginisce Snag 'Em "Baby Powder - Giraffe -- acrylic stamp. I used my Spellbinders Nestabilities to cut out the ovals. Stamp set: Stampin Up! "Friendship Blooms" Stamp set: Stampin Up! "Wonderful Words"

As usual, he did all of the card by himself except the ribbon tying. He found based it loosely on a sketch he found in my card inspiration folder.

I was reading a chapter from Story of the World Volume 2 today -- about the Saracens and the Crusades. Nathan piped up when I started, "Mom -- can I take notes about what you read?" How cute is that? So, here are his notes. I never dreamed I'd be asked a question like that!

He (7 years old) couldn't sleep, so I let him stay up with me -- reading. Well, he'll be able to sleep in since he's homeschooled . :) He has been reading the Spiderwick Chronicles -- his first chapter books, and he's on the fifth book. He is now off to bed, but I was just thinking that it's so hard to make them sleep when they'd rather read. :)

Is there something you wish I would post or list on my blog? Is there a specific homeschooling subject you would like me to address? I have lots of bookmarks I could share. Just let me know. As you can tell, my passions are: my family, my homeschool and my crafts. Please let me know how I can improve my blog -- to make it a place you want to come back to. Also, if you are in Virginia, let me know! I'd love to know who reads my blog from my state. :)

I wanted to share one of my favorite resources for math word problems. You know, problems children should learn how to do since most of real life math is comprised of such problems. Figure It Out: Thinking Like a Math Problem Solver by Sandra R. Cohen along with Curriculum Associates, Inc. http://www.curriculumassociates.com/products/detail.asp?topic=T0M&title=FigureItOut These books are great because they actually teach your child "how" to solve math problems -- step by step. I bought mine at Rainbow Resource ( http://www.rainbowresource.com/ )

I used my new Stampin Up! "Curvy Verses" set tonight for the first time! I made similar cards with scraps of patterned paper, the same basic design, and three different Hero Arts flower stamps: F2968 "Wild Delphinium ," F3254 "Shaded Glory," and F2623 "A Real Flower Drooping." Each of the Hero Arts stamps was clearanced to $2.00 at A C Moore last month. I stamped on watercolor paper by using markers and "huffing" on the colored image. I spritzed the orange-colored one with a mist of water to enhance the watercolor effect.

Stamps: "Sweet Dreams" (Stampin Up!) [all but polka dots], "Polka Dots Backgrounder" (Cornish Heritage) [I got this at a yard sale with the reverse stamp -- each only $1.50.] Inks: Colorbox Chalk Inks Markers (colored flowers with markers), crochet thread Note: the color combo and general idea for this card came from a SU catalog. I was feeling uncreative last night.

Here is a stamp rack my husband built for me. This holds individual stamps (mainly image). Small sets are labeled and resting on top of it. Here is a view of the entire storage unit. This is in my kitchen, so my stamps share the same space as my bread maker and my bread box. My husband built this as well. Here is a close-up of the top portion. The little white drawers hold small alpha stamps, date stamps, number stamps and roller stamps. The little yellow bowl holds my acrylic blocks. I keep containers of flowers within reach along with my Sizzix . The bamboo tray holds larger stamps that are not backgrounds. These CD racks hold acrylic stamp sets from companies like Paper Trey Ink and Maya Road. I also separated all of my dollar Studio G stamp sets and other small sets into categories. I then labeled the CDs for easy access. So, all of my cupcakes and candle stamps are in on CD, for example. All of the "congrats" stamps are in one case, and so on. I unmounted all of my St...

These are only some of the new stamps:

I was simply using some K & Company scraps and a Stampin Up stamp from the Cause for Celebration set. Ben based his card on a sketch from my card sketch binder (his idea). He chose everything for this card -- the color scheme, the papers, the flower, brad, and stamp. It was also his idea to use a Cuttlebug embossing folder on the rectangles. He did try cutting the rectangles with my Nestabilities, but he ran out of the brown he wanted, so I ended up just cutting the three pieces with my paper trimmer. He assembled it all on his own.

I made this tin full of cards for my sister-in-law last Christmas. The papers all came from a Marcella by K pack bought at Target. Most of the stamps are Studio G dollar stamps. I kept the cards pretty simple in order to make 20 of them.

Here is a picture of our Eastern Six-Lined Racerunner (named Liz). Aaron found it in a lawn he was mowing and thought we would like to study it. Ben says, "He's a perfect lizard." I think it's perfect timing considering we are currently studying reptiles.

I made these candle sets last year for Christmas gifts, but I wanted to share the photos now because of the approaching holidays. Here is a great tutorial to help you. http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/stamping_on_candles/ I bought my candles at the Dollar Tree and at Walmart.