Cars, Scrapbooks, Angel Hats, and Giveaways!!!

It's such fun to just stumble upon someone's blog giveaway contest! Like I did this morning at Deb's over at Say It With Letters. She has some very exciting "girlie" prizes, and I sure hope I win! Her sweet assortment of prizes would be exactly what I need right now! You see just last week my daughter, Erica (21), asked me to make her a scrapbook of her grade school years!!! She wants to design her older years, and her baby book is already completed. I just finished my son's two Creative Memory albums last night. Whew! It's about time - he just graduated from college! Those things are heavy now. I hope that's OK! I was looking through them last night, and just about started crying. Oh, how his precious childhood flew by!

Tomorrow I'll be getting my Art Doll Hat swap partner for Amy's swap (Crafting by Candlelight). I sure hope I can come up with something pretty for my partner! If anyone has any ideas, suggestions, or has made one - I'd love to hear from you! This will be a fun challenge for me!

And soon I'll start my own Paper Bag Album for my swap partner! I enjoyed watching my daughter make hers, and can't wait to do mine! Picking the papers for each page will be so enjoyable! And it's sure "live-and-learn" at our house! Erica came out of her room the other night with this burnt piece of paper that had a song printed on it. She asked me, "How does Aunt Heidi burn the edges without torching it???" !!!!!!!! She'd been actually burning the edges with matches to antique her paper!!! Oh Dear!!! Well, that called for a quick trip to Michael's for some aging paint. My pride kept me from calling Heidi to ask what was the best paint for this. Yes, I thought it was paint! I looked high and low at Michael's, and even asked a salesperson for help. She couldn't find any either. I even broke down and asked another customer if she knew anything about aging paper, and she just shook her head no. Right before we left, I stumbled across some ink pads called Distress Ink by Jim Holtz in the stamping section. Oh brother, it was right smack in front of where that lady was looking! Anyway, now we can begin distressing paper. We all have to start our way on the art highway somewhere.

Lastly, we are in one of those major- minor crises at our house. The engine in our Nissan Altima died on busy Highway 17 last Friday night. The mechanic said the timing chain is tangle up in the valves, and the engine is shot. He worked all weekend installing a junk yard engine into it, and when he started it, it leaked oil all over. So we're car shopping! And that means for now I'm without a car, since Bruce needs to use my truck. The car pictures are of my 1967 Camaro, the last car I, alone, got to pick out and drive! Oh, the good ol' days! That was the last of my "cool rides"! Alas, off we go used car shopping