Embellish Me

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-08T23:02:00.008-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!! This is going to have to be a quick post... my bed is waiting for me! lol Here are a few cards that I made the last time Tara came to visit. I am really pleased with the way they turned out. She got the new You're Great (D1434) stamp set from Close to My Heart. When I saw this set, I just knew I had to play with it....soooo cute!!! I used every stamp in the set to make this little set of cards. The designs are my own. I hope you enjoy!!

You're Elaphantastic!!

I'm banana's over you!!

You're Great!! (no Lion)

Later gator!!

Hippo Birthday to You!!

Paper: Close to My Heart Twitterpated Level II paper pack. Cardstock: Colonial White, Chocolate, Sweet Leaf, Sorbet. Pearls are Connections Club reward. Flowers are Prima. Images are colored with copics, I do not know the colors because they were Tara's and I didn't write them down. (Oops!)

Tools: Spellbinder's Nestabilities, EK Success Scalloped Edge punch, SU scallop, 2" scalloped circle punch, SU scalloped circle punch, SU scalloped oval punch, SU large oval punch, SU 1 3/8" circle punch, CM 1 1/2" circle punch, SU designer label punch, SU ticket corner punch.

Thanks for looking!! Hope you all have a WONDERFUL Mother's Day!!!!!

2 days in a row...help, I'm outta control!! lol

2010-05-04T08:47:00.006-04:00

Good morning!! How is everyone out there today? I'm tired, but I guess that's just the nature of the beast anymore. If I'd get my butt to bed before midnight, I might not have this problem!! lol. It is working up to be a beautiful day here...already 70 degrees! Woohoo!! Can't wait till the dew burns off so I can take all the little rugrats outside to run off some energy. If only I could bottle some of that for myself, that would be wonderful! No more lazy days 4 me!!

Anyway, here are 3 cards that I made back in March using the Unforgettable Level II paper pack (X7106B). I was vendoring a crop at the local catholic school for a fundraiser and was able to crop myself. I made cards because the mere thought of hauling everything along to scrapbook, quite frankly, scares the heck out of me. It never fails, I bring everything I think I'm going to use and then want to use everything I don't have along. So scrapbooking is strictly an at home activity for me! lol All products used are Close to My Heart unless stated otherwise.

1st card: The card stock colors are bamboo, colonial white & twilight. I used Antique Copper brads from the Mini-Medley Accents Collection (z1275), Say it in Style (D1283),Butterfly Wings (D1341) , Creme Brulee, Chocolate & Sorbet ink.

2nd card: The card stock colors are Creme Brulee, Sorbet, Bamboo, Chocolate & Colonial White.This one uses Treasure Life (D1306), Say it in Style (D1283), Antique Copper Photo Hangers (Z293). Chocolate, Creme Brulee & Sorbet ink. Border punch: EK Success. Ribbon: Joann's.

3rd card: The card stock colors are Bamboo, Juniper, Chocolate, Sorbet & Colonial White. Thank You (D1361), Say it in Style (D1283). Sorbet ink. Antique Copper Photo Hangers (Z293). Border punch: EK Success. Scalloped Circle punch: SU

Thanks for looking!! Go out and let the sunshine warm you from within!!

OMG!!! Has it been that long?!?!?!

2010-05-03T13:25:00.005-04:00

Would you believe it took me a moment to remember my blog address, after I typed in what I thought it was, I was taken to some crazy tourist website. Oops!! Anyway, i figured it out and here I am!! I want to apologize for how long it has been since I have posted last. No excuses, but I can't even begin to describe how overwhelming the last year or so has been for me with 4 children....so I won't! You'll just have to trust me on that one!! lol

I have done a few things here and there but mostly my scrap stuff sits in the basement collecting dust waiting for me to come down, blow it off and play again. My scrap stuff has a bit of a savior in my BFF Tara...she comes to spend the weekend with me now and again and forces (well not really, lol!) me to go do and be creative. It sure does take a lot to get those creative juices flowing though! It's funny how much truth there is in "when you don't use it, you lose it!"

Anyway...where to start? Here is a card that I made recently. I made this a weekend or so ago when Tara came over and "forced" me to be creative! lol

Isn't he cute!! I just LOVE him!! He belongs to CTMH's July 2010 stamp of the month "Happy Forever". I can't wait till Tara comes to play again so I can play with this set some more!!

The scalloped border is done with Spellbinders Nestabillities. I am now the PROUD owner of a set of these!! I have been waiting for soooo long to get them, and wouldn't you know it....Michaels carries them now!!! Used my 50% off coupon to get them for just over $13. LOVE IT!!!

I used all Close to My Heart on this one except the blue flowers, those are Prima. The paper pack I used is Caboodle (x7121B). Cardstock is sweet leaf, chocolate and white daisy. The pearls are the Autumn/Winter 2009 Connection Club reward. The chocolate ribbon was a Spring 2010 CC reward. Border punch is SU. Hedgehog was colored with Copics ~ Body: E00, E31, R20, Shadow: C1, Back: E33, E35, E37.

Thanks for looking! I will try not to fall off the face of blogger for to long! lol! See you again soon!!

Double $$$ Savings @ Kmart!!!

2009-03-24T22:40:00.002-04:00

This week is double coupon week at Kmart. They are doubling all coupons up to $2. My BFF Lisha told me about it and showed me her mega savings so I had to get in on the action too! I got all this loot ($196.12 worth) for less than $100! $98.52 to be exact! I won't be needing cleaning supplies for some time to come!

1 - 6 Big Role Viva paper towel
1- 2 Big Role Viva paper towel
1 - 18 Double Rolls Cottonelle toilet paper
4 - Lysol Toilet Bowl cleaners
2 - Lysol 4 in 1 All Purpose cleaners
2 - Lysol Bathroom cleaners
1 - Lysol Kitchen cleaner
1 - Lysol Mildew remover
2 - Dreft detergent (32 loads)
2 - Dove Cream Oil body wash
1 - Secret invisible solid
1 - Venus Embrace razor
1 - Schick Quattro razor
1 - Schick Quattro refill cartridges (4 count)
1 - Infants Motrin (1 ounce)
1 - Infants Tylenol (1 ounce)
1 - Huggies Overnight Pull-ups (34 count)
1 - 64 ounce Ocean Spray Light Cranberry
2 - Cascade Complete dishwasher pouches (16 loads)

I thought I did pretty good! I saved $39.60 because a lot of it was on sale and then I had $29.00 in coupons so I saved an aditional $58.00 for a grand total savings of $97.60! I hope they keeps this up every month! Here is a list of all the stuff you can get free or super cheap....I didn't have any of these coupons of course!!! Click here!

Now round up them coupons you've been hoarding and get your tail to Kmart!!! lol!!!

Still on baby leave...

2009-03-01T12:53:00.005-05:00

Hello all! It's been one heck of a month since having baby. This is the first time that I've been able to get to my computer for more than 2 minutes to check email and go again. I feel so bad that I haven't been on sooner! Please forgive me!

My daughter Samantha Ann was born Saturday, January 24th @ 2:02am. She was 7lbs 9ozs and 20 inches long. Labor and delivery went pretty smooth considering it took a little over 16 hours. So much for getting faster with each one you have! Of 4, she took the 2nd longest to make her grand entrance in to the world (and might I add - sunny side up!) We had a little bit of a scare toward the end. Her heart rate kept decelerating with each contraction but with flipping and flopping around back and forth, we finally got it to stop. The Dr said that her cord was getting pinched when I would have a contraction, it was so scary for me. I lost it there for a while and cried but the Dr didn't get excited, I guess it happens quite a bit.

We spent 2 days in the hospital before we were able to come home. When we got home, we got a lot of visitors. Only those that are healthy are allowed in my house. Pediatrician said 'no bye-bye's and 'no sick people'. RSV was going around really bad at the time and now the Flu is heavy in the area. I had my Flu shot while I was pregnant but I'm not taking any chances. They just had on the news the other night that 2 teenage boys in DC were killed by the Flu in the last 2 weeks. Can you imagine? How awful! My heart pours out to those 2 families.

Things have been pretty good considering she has colic. After supper, she would start in and not quit until 1 or 2 in the morning. I took her to the Dr and he said 'yep, sounds like colic'. I was thinking "wonderful!" My oldest had colic, I was not really excited about doing that again. I did a little research online and found out some information. Some Dr's believe that lactase enzyme is the answer and some Dr's believe that a pro-biotic is the answer. We decided to try the pro-biotic first. She's been on it now for about 10 days and we've only had 1 bad night since. So (knock on wood) I think it might be helping. (Don't want to jinx anything, lol) The only thing is now I'm up till at least 3 with her but at least she ain't screaming! and she sleeps till around 10. Take what I can get I guess. When the hubby is home, I try to get a nap in when I can. Those really help! It's funny how you forget about all those sleepless nights that you have when they are little until you have a little one again!

I haven't touched anything in my craft area since my last post over a month ago. So no projects to share. But I do have a few pics of baby to share with you. Hopefully once baby gets on a better schedule I will have more time and energy to start posting regularly again. I apologize again for taking so long to get back on and thank everyone that is bearing with me. Here she is...
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A couple of hours old...

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So sleepy...

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A week old...

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Hoping those eyes are gonna be blue!

So happy to be a BIG sister! lol...

Till next time....Happy stamping!

Lot's to do and running out of time to do it!

2009-01-20T11:41:00.005-05:00

I haven't been on here a few days because I have so much to get done and I'm running out of time to get it all done! I went to the Dr. again on Friday for my weekly check up and got in trouble again! My B/P is still high so they are inducing me a week early on Friday. She wanted to take her sooner but my body isn't ready yet so she gave me a few more days.

Since then I've had to hurry up and try to find nursing bras only to find out that the specialty store that I normally get them from went out of business earlier this past year after 40 years of business. I was so mad. Finding nursing bras is no easy feat for me to begin with since I'm a bit larger in that department than the average gal to begin with. I found some at Motherhood that will have to do for now and then once my milk comes in I'll have to order them online in the right size. The ones I got only cost $16 and will never last. When it comes to nursing bras, you get what you pay for! lol!

Then I had to get caught up on the laundry and stay caught up cuz there's no way in he** my hubby will be doing laundry while I'm in the hospital. I'd kill him! I'm very particular about my laundry and he'd screw something up I'm sure so it's just best he don't go there! Update: The washing machine is on death row and can't be fixed. The Maytag repair man said to run her till she dies. It has since temporarily fixed it self. It made all this racket and noise for a few more loads and then stopped as soon as it started which is a very good thing since I have no moola for a new one right at the moment.

Next was to get the Christmas tree torn down. That was a chore and a half! I hate taking it down almost as much as I hate putting it up! It took half the afternoon getting all the Christmas stuff taken down and re-packed away but it's finally done! Yippeee!!!

Then I was off to clean my 6 year old's bedroom! OMG - never knew the kid was such a pack rat. I hauled 2 loads of dirty clothes out of his room I bet! It was never ending! I got'r done though and then threatened the little shits life! lol! We have a laundry chute for a reason and he needs to start using it!

Finally got my basement cleaned up this weekend too! I am supposed to be on bed rest! Yeah right! I thought, she gave me a week to get my life in order before baby and I have a 3 yr old running around, who's got time for bed rest? It's more like 'crunch time' instead! The basement only took a few hours to get cleaned up. It was pretty easy going after I got all the kids toys picked up and put away. Then it was just a matter of vacuuming and throwing out the trash.

I still have Thank You cards to make from my baby shower, 2 bathrooms to clean, a ton of laundry to put away, clean my daughter's room, clean up my bedroom, sew ties onto the babies bumper pad for the crib, pack for the hospital, go to the dump tomorrow, go to the recycle center and vacuum the entire house. I have 2 1/2 days left to get this all done so I guess I better get this wrapped up and get my butt off the computer so I can get all these wonderful chores done! Here is the set of 3x3 cards that I made while Tara was here last weekend. My camera didn't take very good pics of them the first time so I had to wait to post these until I got a chance to take better ones. Thanks for stopping by and listening! Have a wonderful day!

All 4 Cards...

Insides of the 4...

Card 1...

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Card 2...

Card 3...

Card 4...

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I used the following Close to My Heart supplies on these...

Stamp sets: D1309 Heart Throb, B1297 Heartfelt, D1269 February Word Puzzle, D1254 Soul Mates Word Puzzle.

Cardstock: Tulip, White Daisy, Baby Pink, Blush.

Ink: Tulip, Baby Pink, Blush, Chocolate.

Chocolate Ribbon & Pewter Brads.

Tools:

Martha Stewart's Heart Lace border punch, Mini-heart Scallop border punch and Scalloped Heart punch.

Paper Shaper's 2" Scalloped circle punch

SU's 1 3/8" circle punch, Scalloped Circle punch

CM's 1 1/2" circle punch

Valentine Layout and a broken machine!

2009-01-14T20:41:00.005-05:00

I had every intention of getting my basement cleaned yesterday until my washing machine broke. I have no idea what happened, I had done 3 loads already and went to put the fourth in. Well when I did that it just started making all kinds of loud obnoxious noises and my laundry was not going to get finished till after hubby got home. When he got home he looked at it and said I needed to finish the load that was in there before he could try to fix it, so I ran it. Eeesh, you should have heard it, not good. Well of course American Idol was on last night so we HAD to watch that and well tonight is poker night so my machine is still broke. Good thing I only have 2 more loads sitting there and not 10 or we'd really be in trouble! So hopefully tomorrow he can fix it. It's kinda of funny too that it happened because the load of reds that I put in when it broke didn't all fit. I had to leave some out, and I said to myself "this would have all fit in my Mom's washer" that I absolutely fell in love with while we were at her house! Maybe the good lord is on my side on this one! I still felt guilty and told my hubby "I swear, I didn't do anything to it!" lol. So I guess my basement will get cleaned once my washer gets fixed. I can't stay down here and clean without doing laundry too...idk what it is. Maybe it's that multi-tasker in me!

While Tara was here this past weekend we made a valentine layout using random stamped paper we made and the layout pattern from one of our new workshops on the go. This is how it turned out...

The whole layout...

Page 1...

Page 2...

This layout uses all Close to My Heart ~ D1309 Heart Throb stamp set, B1297 Heartfelt stamp set, D1269 February Word Puzzle stamp set, D1336 Cupcake Sprinkles stamp set, D1280 Spot on Backgrounds stamp set, Love Letters rub-ons in chocolate, Pretty Pins, Blush Ric-Rac Ribbon, Tokens to Treasure, Big Pinks Just Blooms, Cardstock: Tulip, Blush, Baby Pink, Chocolate, White Daisy. Ink: Tulip, Blush, Baby Pink, Chocolate.

Tools ~ Paper Shaper's 2" Scalloped Circle punch, CM's 1 1/2" circle punch, SU's 1 3/8" circle punch, Martha Stewart Heart Lace border punch & Mini Heart Scallop border punch

I'm baaaaack! FINALLY!!!

2009-01-13T09:17:00.004-05:00

It has been 3 weeksish since I have last been in blogger world and a busy 3 weeks it's been! We left for Tennessee on Friday, Dec 19th to surprise my parents for Christmas. We showed up on their doorstep at 8:45 am only to find them still in bed! I called and woke my mom up and then sent the kids to the front door acting dumb the whole time on the phone. She said "What the heck, someone's at my door already this morning" I said "really! Who would visit you that early in the morning? Were you expecting anyone?" She said "Yeah, right!" Then she said "Looks like there are kids at the door" I said who do you know out there that has kids? Is it the neighbor?" That's when she opened the door to see that it was my 3 rug-rats, and was pleasantly surprised!

We had a wonderful visit with them. The kids had a great Christmas. They especially liked the part about it being at Nana's. No one wanted to leave when it was time to come home! We were there 2 whole weeks, we got back home on the 2nd at 4:00 in the morning. It wasn't a bad drive, only 10 hours. Didn't seem half as bad as our trips back to Wisconsin and those were only 2 hours longer.

While we were there, I kept telling my friends back here that I didn't know when I was going to be home, because I didn't. We left with no set date of return in mind. We were just going to play it by ear and see how things went. After a week and a half had past, I started receiving threats from them that I had to be home by the 3rd so that I could attend our Mom's group meeting. We were just supposed to hang out at a friends and watch movies and I was supposed to make sure I was there since my days were numbered to be able to do things with them with the baby coming and all. Well, I found out on Saturday why they wanted me home so darn bad! Movies my butt! They had surprise me with a baby shower and everyone was in on it! I mean everyone! My husband, my mother! Everyone! (except me that is!) I had no clue! I walked in to Leeann's house on Saturday and she was taking pictures of me as I walked down the hall to her kitchen. I said "What the he** are you taking pictures of me for?" Then I looked around and saw everyone and everything and figured it out! I had all to do to hold back the tears! I still can't believe that they had done this for me! No one has ever done anything like this before for me, so it really meant a lot to me that they all did this! I feel so blessed to have the most wonderful of friends and family! It was a lot of fun! We played all kinds of games and I got all kinds of goodies for the baby. The food was fabulous, I didn't even swell from all the little summer sausage slices that I ate! So I want to shout out a big "THANK YOU" to all my great friends and family that were in on this! You guys are the BEST!

Since then, I have spent the last week just getting caught up with life. The kids went back to school on Monday the 5th only to have off again on the 6th for rain! I guess we were supposed to get ice that day, well we didn't get squat! Just rain! There had to be like 6 inches of snow on the ground before they would even think about calling school when I was a kid. Here they just have to say that there is like a 10% chance of an inch of snow and they are calling school! I say it's RIDICULOUS!

I had done all my laundry from the trip while I was still at my mom's so that was one less thing that I had to worry about when I got home. I got spoiled! She has the Maytag Neptune front loaders. OMG, I think I'm in love! I told my hubby that he can buy me a set of those for any old reason at all, he didn't have to wait for a holiday, that I would totally understand him buying me them "just because" lol! My clothes were so "nice and fluffy feel so good soft" when they were done. There was no comparison to how my regular 'ole agitator washing machine leaves my clothes. Someday, I tell myself...Someday! lol!

I still have to tear down my Christmas tree! Ugh, I hate taking it down almost as much as I hate putting it up. We were supposed to tear it down this past week, well that didn't happen. Hubby said it's my fault cuz I had to go shopping for 2 days and then spend 2 days scrapping. I said to him "we have to eat don't we?" I had to go grocery shopping the first day after a dr. appt.

Then the 2nd day I got in trouble at the OB and was told that I was being induced the 39th week because my B/P has gone up suddenly. I have chronic high B/P to begin with but it had been really low this whole pregnancy with no meds. I was shocked that it had gone up so quick but was also thinking it's kinda about time! I had been high for quite sometime by now with the other 3 and my youngest I had to take medicine for it the whole pregnancy. So I was stamped "high risk" with this one right off the bat but only because of history, I have been complication free up until now.

So anyway, getting back to why I was going shopping, lol. I have no nursing bras yet, so being that I only have about 2 weeks left, I thought I best get that taken care of. Well not so much. No one caries nursing bras bigger than a DD around here so I have to drive an hour away sometime this week to get them at a specialty store. I would order them off the Internet but I am one of those that can't buy a thing without trying it on first, especially bras! I wasn't going to make it a wasted trip though, there is a Children's Place outlet store near the maternity store. It just so happens that they are having their Monster Sale! Well, can't pass that up! lol! Michaela needed long sleeved shirts, so I happened to stop in there and got her a bunch of new shirts. That made me the best mom in the world for a day! So anyway, maybe I'll get that darn tree torn down sometime this week!

Tara came over Saturday to visit me, she really had to come to get some Powerball tickets! lol! It was up to $100 something million dollars. I told her she better not be coming to WV and not be stopping in to visit me! So we got crafty on Saturday. Before she left on Sunday we were crafty a little more! We made a Valentine's Day layout, 2 Valentine's cards and 4 3x3 cards. They turned out soooo cute! Here are the 5x7 cards that we made...

Card 1...

This card uses...Close to My Heart's More to Adore paper pack, Key to My Heart stamp set, Baby Pink CS, Hollyhock CS, Chocolate CS, Chocolate ink, Blush ink, Chocolate ribbon, pink ribbon is from JoAnn's, Martha Stewart Heart Lace border punch and Scalloped Heart punch.

Card 2...

This card uses...Close to My Heart's More to Adore paper pack, Key to My Heart stamp set, D1309 Heart Throb stamp set, Blush CS, Hollyhock Cs, Chocolate CS, Colonial White CS, Baby Pink CS, Blush ink, Hollyhock ink, Chocolate ink, Hollyhock marker, Chocolate marker, Pewter brads. SU's 1 3/8" circle punch, CM's 1 1/2" circle punch, Paper Shaper's 2" Scalloped circle punch, Martha Stewart's Heart Scallop border punch and ribbon from JoAnn's.

Thanks for stopping by! Until next time....Happy scrappin!

Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2008-12-22T12:06:00.002-05:00

I want to wish everyone that stops by a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I will not be adding any more posts to my blog until after Christmas for sure and maybe not until after the New Year. We snuck out of town Friday night to surprise my parents for Christmas Saturday morning. We have not seen them since May and will be enjoying the Holidays with them. Thank you for understanding and I will be back before you know it!

Merry Christmas to You and Yours!!!!!

May You have a Safe and Happy Holiday!!!!!

Memo board for the fridge ~ Super easy, super cute!

2008-12-17T10:22:00.004-05:00

This weekend when Tara was here, we ventured out with all 3 kids to Ac Moore. They had their Christmas note pads on sale 2 for $1. I couldn't pass them up, especially this snowflake one, I love everything about it! lol! I made this memo board with it and it was really quite easy! All I did was took a 6x11 piece of chipboard and covered it with patterned paper. Then I made the cute little border on the top with my new Paper Shapers Snowflake border punch that I got at Michael's and my favorite Martha Stewart Snowflake punch, it's the new one that just came out. I then used some terrifically tacky tape from Provo Craft on the back of the notepad to adhere it to the board. (It's the double-sided tape with the red plastic that you peel off).

For the pen holder, I used a film container as the base. I wrapped cardstock and paper around it and decorated it all pretty. I wrapped ribbon around it that was about 4" to long so that I had 'tabs' of ribbon coming off the back. I marked where I wanted to put the pen holder on the board and made slits to slide the ribbon through. I took the terrifically tacky tape again and adhered those tabs on the back to hold the pen holder on. Once all that was done, I adhered a piece of cardstock to the back and applied some magnets. Now I have a great little memo board for my fridge. Thanks for stopping by!

Had some creative juices flowing today! Think it was lack of sleep!

2008-12-14T19:48:00.010-05:00

My BFF Tara came to spend the night for a scrapbooking sleepover Saturday night and we got lots accomplished. That is to explain my lack of sleep last night! lol! We were up till 2am! I got 2 layouts, a memo board and this tag kit done! You only get to see the tag kit today! The rest will follow soon enough. I cracked open the Evensong Level 2 paper pack for the 1st time for this one and the layout I made. The kit includes the box and 20 gift tags, with 4 each of 5 designs. The tags were a great way to use up scraps from the layout that I made. Thanks for stopping by! Have a great evening!

The box was made using the tutorial found here. I just increased the paper sizes by 1 inch on 1 side only to make the box 4x3 instead of 3x3. The box stands 2" tall. Here is the top view. There are clear circle tiles on the 4 circles, can't see them in the photo very well.
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Here is the box open with all 20 tags nesting inside of it.

Tag 1 ~

Tag 2 ~

Tag 3 ~

Tag 4 ~

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Tag 5 ~

I used ~ Close to My Heart Evensong Level 2 paper pack, Cardstock: Colonial White, Cranberry, New England Ivy, Sorbet. Ink: Cranberry, New England Ivy, Sorbet, Black, Olive. Stamp sets: Festive Frills (C1328), Peace on Earth (D1243), Annotations (D1307). Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon.

Extra large eyelets are We R Memory Keepers in Antique Copper.

SU ~ Scallop Edge punch.

Dreaming of a White Christmas!

2008-12-12T20:00:00.005-05:00

To bad everyone got snow except us last night! Never got cold enough I guess. Yesterday while I was doing laundry I had an opportunity to make this card. I actually used my sewing machine too! lol! I used an old sketch of Jen's over at I{heart}2stamp that I had saved away in my sketches folder. Here's the card and the sketch. Finished size is 6x6. Thanks for stopping by!

I used CTMH's Aspen paper (my favorite right now!)

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Here's Jen's sketch that I used. She has some of the best sketches!
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I used Close to My Heart Aspen Level 2 paper pack, Creme Brulee CS & marker, Outdoor Denim CS & ink, Colonial White CS, Desert Sand CS, pewter spiral clip, Christmas Melodies stamp set (D1324)

SU ~ Scallop Edge punch, Round Tab punch

Martha Stewart ~ Fern punch, Lace punch, Snowflake punch

Rhinestones & ribbon are from AcMoore

Ho hum kinda day....Mt. Keller is calling....

2008-12-11T13:11:00.006-05:00

Ho hum because it's raining and yucky out! These are the kind of days you just want to stay in bed all day! Yeah right! Can't sleep at night, why would I think I could during the day? lol!

What is Mt. Keller you ask? Well, it is that vast mountain of laundry that is waiting for me at the bottom of my laundry chute! I already have 3 loads washed and about 100 to go! lol! The only thing that I like about doing laundry is that if I make a day of it, I can do crafty stuff in between loads. Gotta get caught up...so far behind! Story of my life! lol! My goal is to get it all done today or tomorrow so that I can start pulling out baby stuff and getting it washed. The final countdown is on, only 6 or 7 weeks left and with the holidays in there, it's really only about 4 or 5!

I told my hubby yesterday, she's just going to push her way on out by herself when she's ready. She kicked and pushed so much that night that I felt bruised the next morning. You know when you cough a lot and your gut gets sore from it, well that's what I felt like but I hadn't coughed once! lol! Maybe my heartburn had something to do with it, she didn't like what I ate anymore than my stomach did, and she was letting me know it. The only prob, I don't know what I ate that would have given me such awful heartburn. It hurt to breathe! Thought I was going to have the big one! Thank goodness it was gone by mid-day yesterday!

What to post today??? Hmmm... how bout a few Christmas cards. K - here they are...

This 1st one is done with CTMH's Everlasting paper pack and Victorian Snowflakes (C1285) stamp set, and Peace on Earth (D1243) stamp set.

Another with the same stamp set and paper...

The 3rd one ain't a favorite...it's ok I guess...

The stripe paper is from Everlasting Creative Basics.

Thanks for stopping by!

Only 13 days left till Santa comes!!!

She made me do it!!!

2008-12-10T21:34:00.003-05:00

Make her one too, that is! My sister was here for Thanksgiving with her tribe. When she saw my Christmas countdown calender sitting on my entertainment center, she said that I just 'had' to make one for her too! Hers, of course, couldn't be the same as mine though! After about an hour of looking at my paper stash, she finally decided on Aspen. Here is what hers looks like...

All the details are on original post - click link above.

Thanks for stopping by!

The PLAGUE strikes AGAIN!!!!

2008-12-08T17:31:00.006-05:00

It is never-ending! I swear! What and Who is it this time??? Michaela and Riley went to the Dr. today and what started off as just colds has now manifested itself into infections of all kinds. Michaela has an upper respiratory infection and an ear infection bordering on double ear infection. Riley just got off his anti-biotic for the strep infection in his sinuses 3 days ago and is back on another today for yet another sinus infection bordering on the start of bronchitis. They are both on augmentin for the next 10 days! Soooo....hopefully now that all 3 of them are on anti-biotics now, that will mean the end of "the plague" in my house. (Well, hopefully for a little while anyway!)

Dr. said they are most likely fighting the same germ just at different stages. Thank You dear loving daughter of mine for not covering your mouth the 100,000x's I have told you to and coughing your bubonic germs all over my house! Guess I bought the mask to late! She was really mad at me for making her wear it, but you know what? She covers her mouth now!
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So anyway, the kids are on quarantine in the house until Wednesday. Thank goodness hubby will be home too, to help me keep my sanity through this!

On a lighter note...here are a couple more Christmas cards that I would like to share with you. Until next time...may you and yours stay healthy and plague free! Tis the season!!!

A super simple 'Season's Greetings...

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This card uses... CTMH's Everlasting Creative Basics, Ponderosa Pine CS, White Daisy CS, Bamboo CS, Cranberry CS, Vellum, Sand Paper, Edge Distresser, Cranberry Ink, Peace on Earth stamp set (D1243). Sizzix Snowflake Sizzlit #6. EK Success Adhesive Tag and clear tiles. Martha Stewart Snowflake Punch.

Happy Holidays...
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This card uses... Ponderosa Pine CS, Cranberry CS, Ink: Cranberry, Ponderosa Pine, Chocolate. White Embossing Powder, Playful Caps (D1013), Playful Lowercase (C1079), Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon, Pewter brads. Sizzix Holly & Berries. Background paper was made using technique in last post.

TECHNIQUE ~ To make the 'snow'...ink the edges of white daisy CS with Versa Mark ink. Pour white embossing powder over where you inked, tap off and heat w/ heat gun till powder melts. After powder melts and cools, ink with chocolate ink pad in a sweeping motion to simulate the look of wood grain.
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A less than 5-minute NOEL...

This card uses... CTMH Baroque Alpha (E1006), Cranberry CS & ink, Ponderosa Pine CS, New England Ivy ink, Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon. Bell from AcMoore button pack.

How to ~ Stamp Baroque Alpha to spell NOEL on White Daisy CS. Cut out in 1 1/2" squares. Mount on 1 3/4" CS squares. Place on card in window pattern. Cut 1/2" band of Ponderosa Pine CS strip, add ribbon, apply to card and you are done!
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Less than 5-minutes till JOY for you...

This card uses... CTMH's Everlasting Creative Basics and Level 2 paper pack, Baroque Alpha, Corner Rounder/Scallop Maker punch, 1/8" hole punch, Ponderosa Pine ink, Cranberry CS, Ponderosa Pine CS.

How to ~ Cut 2 1/2" x 7" piece of striped paper, apply to top of card. Cut 2 1/2" x 7" piece of red paper, apply to bottom of card. Make scallops with punch and add holes. Cut 1/2" strip of Ponderosa Pine CS and apply to center of card. Stamp JOY using Baroque Alpha. Cut out in 1 1/2" squares, mount on 1 3/4" squares of Cranberry CS. Apply over Ponderosa Pine strip in center of card evenly spaced and you are done! These would be super easy to mass produce!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Few Frosty Friends!

2008-12-07T10:58:00.006-05:00

This has got to be my most favorite stamp set ever. I just love the snow men and the style of it. It is Close to My Heart's Frosty Friends(D1073). It is being discontinued after Dec 31st and the sadness is weighing heavy on my heart! lol! Here are a few Christmas cards that I have made so far with it. I can't get over how versatile these little dudes are!

Card #1 ~ Festive and Cheery...

Card #2 ~ More vintage or nostalgic look....

Card #3 ~ More traditional look...

Card #1 ~ Patterned Paper is Karen Foster Christmas Stripe, Snowflake is Sizzix Sizzlet Snowflake #6, Kiwi circle is 1 1/2", Peace on Earth stamp set (D1243), Wavy border done with CM's Wavy edge cutter. Inks: Archival Black, Chocolate, New England Ivy, Sunflower, Cranberry, Sweet Leaf. The image was water colored with water brush and ink pads. If you squeeze the pad while it is closed, enough ink is transferred to the lid to make the perfect little color palette to lift your ink from.

Card #2 ~ all CTMH on this one... Everlasting Level 2 paper pack, Ponderosa Pine CS, Colonial White CS, Cranberry CS, Pewter Spiral clip, Vintage Post Card stamp set (D1207), Peace on Earth stamp set (D1243), Chocolate Waxy Flax, Inks: Desert Sand, Archival Black, Cranberry, Ponderosa Pine, Autumn Terracotta, Grey Flannel. Sandpaper, Water brush. The green striped piece was done by scoring lines at 1/4" intervals. Once all your lines are scored, flip over and sand across the raised lines and it takes the color off the raised areas and leaves you with a great textured piece of CS.

Card #3 ~ all CTMH on this one too... Everlasting Creative Basics paper pack, Ponderosa Pine CS, Cranberry CS, Colonial White CS, Peace on Earth stamp set (D1243), Edge Distresser, Water brush, Corner Rounder/Scallop Maker punch, Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon, Inks: New England Ivy, Ponderosa Pine, Chocolate, Cranberry, Honey, Autumn Terracotta. Silver embossing powder, heat gun. (oops, I lied ~ silver snowflake is from Michael's)

All cards are 5x7 size.

Until next time... Happy Christmas Card making! Better Get'm done!

Only 17 days left till Christmas!

Seriously People! Where did the time go???

2008-12-06T16:01:00.007-05:00

OMG! I just wanna cry! I was almost done posting this when my oldest daughter came down and hit something on the keyboard and it all disappeared! Everything! Gone! Now to start all over... #$%^... %(*&%$... /a%^%...^$(*&()*...**)&^... those are a few choice words coming out of my mouth at the moment! I am supposed to be heading upstairs to lie down for awhile and put my swollen feet up! GRRRRR.....

Ok... deep breath!

Starting over...

When I said in my last post that I would update later, I seriously did not mean 18 days later. Where has the time gone? I guess time really does fly when your having 'not so much' fun! What I mean by that is I have been living in the house of plague the last 2 weeks. It all started with my son getting a strep infection in his sinuses. He went on an antibiotic for that. Then the girls came down with a nasty cold. Just as soon as I thought that Kaitlin had finally beat hers, bam, she got hit with croup! Michaela is still fighting hers, she can't shake the nasty wet cough. We'll probably be heading to the Dr. on Monday! Riley, he's over his strep but now is coughing too! Will this ever end? Tis the season!! Yet somehow through it all, I remain healthy! (knocking on wood! lol!)

We had the kids Christmas party today at my husbands work. They had a bunch of those moon bounce things there. The girls weren't even in the first one 5 minutes and came out coughing up a storm. They weren't to happy when I said no more. They got over it quick though when I pointed out the carousel. Kaitlin said " Yeah mommy, I wanna ride the cowboys!" It was so cute. She keeps calling horses cowboys and I'm not quite sure why! I thought they were going to wear the carousel out, they rode it a minimum of 8 times! They loved it. Riley was off doing boy stuff with Daddy like virtual roller coasters and racing go carts.

We are finally home and Kaitlin is up for a nap so I thought I would take a few to come down and 'update' my blog finally. Little did I know, I'd have to do it twice! Go figure, that's just the luck of me!

Anyway, here is a better cropped picture of Kaitlin's invite and the inside of it. Her party was a lot of fun for her, it's been 2 weeks now and she still thinks it's her birthday! LOL!

The inside...

The font on the inside is Minya Nouvelle in Sorbet (R-239, G-77, B-40), Juniper (R-55, G-141, B-110) and Chocolate (R-137, G-104, B-89)

The font on the front is CAC Norm Heavy in Sorbet and Burnstown Dam in Chocolate.

The monkey was cut at 3". The '3' was cut at 1 1/2". The circles are 2" white and 2 1/8" tulip cs.

The green patterned paper is from SU's Autmn Vine paper pack and the Sorbet patterned paper is from CTMH's Perfect Day paper pack.

Thanks for stopping by! Sorry I've been MIA for awhile. Hopefully the kids are healthy soon and all stays well around here! Till next time...

The luck of me...or should I say lack there of!

2008-11-18T19:46:00.002-05:00

You'll never guess what happened to me AGAIN yesterday? Hint: Just happened a month ago and 2 other times in the last 2 years! Give up? I got rear-ended in my little blue tracker AGAIN!

No tears this time...I got out and chewed the lady out that hit me. I was sooooooo mad. I think I scared her! lol! What is it about bright friggin blue that all these people can't see? Are they color blind? I mean like OMG - open your eyes. The worst part about it was it was dark out so not only should the bright blue stood out even more with big ole headlights shining on it but the bright red brake lights should have helped a little too!

I got my 'hahaha' when the cops came! She got a big ole fat inatentive driving ticket! I just wanted to say 'take that, does that open your eyes a little wider? That bright yellow ticket shining in your face?' I didn't, I just went on my merry little way with a somewhat smug grin on my face! The officer was super nice to me, he couldn't believe that I have been rear-ended 4 times in the same vehicle in the past 2 years, heck twice in the last month!

On a lighter note...Here are the invites that I made for my daughter's birthday party that is coming up. I am really pleased with the way that they turned out. I will post all the deets a little later. House is on in 5 minutes! Can't miss it!

My first RAK!!! Thanks Kathy!

2008-11-16T20:54:00.002-05:00

I went to my mail box today remembering that I forgot to get my mail yesterday and found this wonderful card waiting there for me! It is from Kathy, a SBS22 sister, Thank You Kathy!! It is so simple yet very pretty! I would have never thought to use wreath ribbon on a card, ingenious!!! Thanks again Kathy, you made my day today! It was my 3 year old's birthday today and my oldest 2 managed to do everything in their power to try to make it a miserable day. Oh well, I just sent them to bed early! Gotta go watch the Jeff Dunham christmas special! I just love him, super funny guy!

Note to Self: Mass Production ~ Make it simple!

2008-11-15T16:17:00.003-05:00

3 different cards later I finally came up with these after the thought of making the first 2 x 12 would have taken FOREVER! They can't get any simpler than this. To make them, I started with a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" card base. I cut a 3/4" strip of Honey cardstock and layered on to a 1" strip of Purple Pansy cardstock. I then cut all the 'thanks' from Olive cardstock. I used Cricut cartridge 'Opposites Attract' set on upright at 1 3/4". I used the 'thanks' phrase key in the bottom row of the key pad. Then I used my glue pen to glue down the thanks on top of the strips and I was done!

How super easy was that? I just might have to make a few more in different colors so that I have them just to have. These are for my son's birthday gifts. Yeah, 3 weeks later, I know I'm slow! Better late than never though, right!

Here's all 12! Only took about 1/2 an hour to make all of them...

"THANKS" for stopping by!!!

Can your morning top mine? Sleeping in not an option!

2008-11-11T20:14:00.004-05:00

The kids had off today because of Veteran's Day. I thought 'woohoo' mommy gets to sleep in! NOT! 1st of all, at 4am this morning I woke up and looked at my alarm clock. I completely forgot the kids had off at this hour of the morning and set it, forgetting why I didn't set it in the first place! lol! So at 7am this morning I am snoozing the alarm for a half hour till it dawns on me that I don't have to get up.

Just as I was almost back to sleep, right around 8am, I re-awaken to what sounds like water spilling on to the floor. Well it was more than water! It was my son spilling all the contents of his stomach down my staircase! My hubby heard it too, I said to him "I don't even want to know what that was". 2 seconds later my oldest yells up the steps "MOM, RILEY'S PUKING ALL DOWN THE STEPS" My husband and I both flew out of bed and what a mess. Words can not even describe the mess that we had to clean up. It took me an hour and a half! Thank goodness my steps are wood and not carpet! Every step to the bottom was covered, both walls were covered. We have picture framing down the lower half of our walls, every nook and cranny of that molding was covered. It was a mess!

No one got to sleep in this morning! Better luck on Saturday, I guess! lol!

I made this yesterday but didn't get a chance to post it. The powers that be wouldn't allow it! lol! I got the idea from here, and made it my own with some of my favorite Close to My Heart christmas paper. Finished size of this is 5x7. Actually got to pull out the bind-it-all too! You know, that tool that I just had to have and have used all of 3 times now! Anyway, thanks for stopping by and may none of you ever have to awaken to the kind of mess that I had to this morning!!!

Happy Veteran's Day and Thank You to all of you veterans out there!

I used Close to My Heart Evensong Creative Basics paper, Cardstock: White Daisy, Cranberry, Garden Green, New England Ivy. Ink: Cranberry, Garden Green, New England Ivy. Rustic Alphabet.

Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch
Cricut Stone Script Cartridge for 'days'
SU's corner rounder/scallop maker for scalloped circle
Bind-it-all & 3/4" spiral
2-5x7 pieces of heavy chipboard that I had saved from the packaging of card blanks that I had bought.
Red & Green Rhinestones are from Michael's

The numbers are a blank through 9 for the first stack and 0-9 for the second. I decorated the blank one with a little christmas holly die cut.

ESPN Zone meets CTMH!!!

2008-11-07T19:42:00.008-05:00

We went to ESPN Zone a few years back and I borrowed some extra coasters from there. Well they have been sitting around collecting dust ever since! I came across this little number that I made with them a few months ago as I was cleaning my scrap area today. I had completely forgot that I had made this. Anyway, they made the perfect little mini-album. Now I just need someone to get married so I can gift this! lol!

Somehow my original picture got overwritten with a different picture as I was editing it. I have no idea how but that is why it's different from the rest. Here is the front cover. The tag was done by sticking 2 of the same My Stickease tags together and punching a hole through them.

Here are the 1st 2 pages, the little circle tags slide in and out of the pocket on the right page for journaling or pictures....

Pages 3 & 4...

Pages 5 & 6 ~ circle tag slides in and out of pocket for pic or journaling, flowers were done with Quickutz daisy die and chocolate brad...

Pages 7 & 8....

Back cover....

I used Close to My Heart's More to Adore level 2 paper pack, More to Adore My Stickease, D1194 All my Love stamp set, D1183 Adorable stamp set, Chocolate & Blush ink, Pewter picture hanger, Silver brads & eyelet, Chocolate brads, White Daisy organdy ribbon.

Quikutz daisy die & rings die

Ribbon is from Michael's

Rhinestones are from AcMoore

Grateful For You!!! Great Leaf Technique too...

2008-11-06T23:06:00.004-05:00

Good Evening All! I can't believe it is Thursday already! (and it's almost over too!) Where did this week go? I was in the mood for some fall leaves today. Since we have absolutely none left on our little it bitty maple trees outside, I had to make my own! lol.

I used Nature's Vein stamp set from Close to My Heart. I started off by inking my base image in Autumn Terracotta and then rolled the edges in Barn Red. Once you stamp the image, you will see that the stamp rolling technique gives great color and dimension to your image. I then stamped the vein image in Barn Red and lined it up on the first image (super easy to do with clear stamps!) Next, cut out your leaf and crumpled it all up as if I were going to throw it away, but don't throw it away, uncrumple it! lol! Next you take a sponge dauber loaded with Barn Red ink and sponge the edges and the crinkled ridges on your leaf. That's it your done and have one very realistic leaf sitting in front of you to do with as you please! Here's how mine turned out...

Here's a different angle trying to show the dimension a little better...Not so sure it does though!

Everything on this one is Close to My Heart except the ribbon & button.
Ink: Autumn Terracotta, Honey, Barn Red, Black, Garden Green
Stamps: Nature's Vein, Annotations, Say it in Style
Cardstock: Outdoor Denim, Barn Red, Colonial White
Copper Brads
Polka Dot Border is from Floral Tapestry My Stickease
Ribbon: Joann's
Leaf Button: Michael's

Tools~
Scalloped Border Punch - SU
Distressed Stripes Embossing Folder - Cuttlebug

Thanks for stopping by!

Snow Friends...Can wait to make real ones!!!

2008-11-03T17:30:00.003-05:00

It will be that time of year again, soon enough! I can hardly wait! I love winter time and especially the snow, maybe it's because I grew up in Wisconsin, it's in my blood! lol! Anyway, I hadn't touched this Snow Friends set since last year. Today I decided to get it out and dust it off a little. I absolutely love our new Aspen paper and can't stop using it! I hope you like it, it was really pretty easy to make...

What did I use? Hmm....

Close to My Heart~ Aspen Level 2 paper pack
Snow Friends stamp set
November promo: Dazzling Die cuts (twilight frame)
Ink: Black, Twilight
Markers: Grey Flannel, Heavenly Blue, Twilight, Creme Brulee, Brown Bag
Martha Stewart: Snow Flake punches
AcMoore: Rhinestones
JoAnn's: Ribbon
Other: White Vellum
Sizzix: Snow Flake #6 sizzlit

My crazy week and a Super Easy 'Dazzling' Card!

2008-11-02T15:27:00.009-05:00

It's been a CRAZY week! It all started Thursday night, we went to a 'trunk or treat' with one of my neighbors. I had never heard of such a thing, when I first saw it, my first thought was "OMG, if this ain't red-neck, I don't know what is!" Then when I thought about it a little, it was really a pretty good idea! The kids run around a blocked off parking lot and trick or treat out of the trunks of peoples cars or pick'em up trucks. The kids can't go anywhere or get lost, there are no cars driving around to run them over and it's still daylight out so no creeps hiding in the bushes to snag your kids! They had a blast!

After that they did a little trick or treating in the city, which was a total flop! We walked, I bet 2 miles with 5 kids, for all of 10 pieces of candy. The wonderful people in charge had changed trick or treating to Thursday instead of Friday all because of a dumb high-school football game! Who were the geniuses that scheduled it on Halloween anyway? It appears that a lot of peeps must have been boycotting the decision due to the severe lack of participation!

Anyway, We had trick-or-treating on Friday in our sub-division and the kids had an absolute blast. (That was all after a half a day of candy making and to get ready for Saturday with Tara.) It was from 6-8pm. We had GORGEOUS weather, 70 degrees! Got a little chilly after the sun went down all the way but it wasn't too bad. My sister and her family came in from out-of-town to go trick-or-treating with us and Tara spent the night too so I had quite the house full Friday night! Here's a pic of my kids...aren't they sooo cute!

A glam witch, a Sully from Monster's Inc., and Snow White!

Saturday, we had my son's 6th Birthday party! It was a lot of fun. Here he is with the pumpkin cake that Tara made for him! She's the best!

These are all the cupcakes that we made...

They all have the cutest little gravestones on them. This is the candy that we made half the day Friday. They are just the Wilton candy melts. The big ones took forever to harden! I really liked the end result though! Definitely worth the waiting! lol! (Note to self: Next time I get the crazy idea to make candy, buy 2 or 3 molds instead of 1!!!) Here's a close-up of a few...

Now that it's Sunday, I finally have a moment to take a deep breath and relax! lol! Time for just a little 'me' time. Down to the dungeon I went this afternoon after my sister and her clan left! I wanted to make a card with some of the new Dazzling Die-cuts that I got a few days ago. This is Close to My Heart's November promotion. They are pretty cool! Here's the super easy card that I made with them...

The background Baby pink strip is stamped with Spot on Backgrounds in Blush ink. The stitching is Simple Stitches stamp set. I used SU's Scalloped Border punch to do the scallops and the rest is the Die-Cuts! The little schnibble of ribbon is from Joann's dollar bins. I also used my Martha Stewart Fern Branch punch to punch out a few from some white vellum but the didn't show up the best on the pics.

Here's what the inside looks like. Just a small border along the bottom...

Close up of the front...really hard to see fern branches behind the tag but they are there!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping and Scrapping till next time! :o)

Recycling some "snow"...

2008-10-29T22:15:00.004-04:00

My daughter got some thing Hannah Montana for her birthday that came with this really blingy hollogram type background in it. I thought 'hmmm...' I might be able to use that for something someday, I think I'll keep this! Well, 5 months later, it has come in handy! I punched circles out of it to use as a background for the snowflakes on this card. Guess this is my 'going green' contribution to the world today! lol! The stamp set is the November Stamp of the Month from Close to My Heart called 'All Decked Out'. I think he is absolutely adorable and I couldn't wait to use him. I think I may be using him a lot more! I hope you like too! Thanks for stopping by!

Here is a different angle of all the bling.

Here's what I used...

~Close to My Heart: Aspen Level 2 paper pack, Creme Brulee & Black cs, All Decked Out stamp set, Twilight & Goldrush marker, Black ink
~SU: 1 3/8" circle punch
~CM: 1 1/2" circle punch
~Michael's: rhinestones, white card base
~Martha Stewart: Snowflake punch

A Holly Berry Trio...

2008-10-27T19:33:00.005-04:00

I participated in a different sketch challenge this week. It is a blog I frequent and really like. The challenge can be found here. I ain't in much of a typing mood tonight. I am soooo tired! Didn't get my nap today! lol Thought I would get this posted tonight though. I was gonna post it yesterday but the forces that be never gave me a minute to do it. Anyway, I hope you like it. I discovered the coolness of glitter glue! That's how I did the berries. Very nifty, just takes a bit to dry! Thanks for stopping by! Happy stamping and scrapping till next time!

Here's the sketch I used...

I used Close to My Heart's Evensong Lev2 paper, White Daisy cs, New England Ivy ink, Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch, SU 1 3/8" punch, CM 1 1/2" punch, Red Glitter Glue and Michael's ribbon.

Finally did it! Magazine File Tutorial...

2008-10-25T11:18:00.027-04:00

I finally sat down and recreated my template that I came up with when I made these and did a tutorial to go along with it. This is the very first tutorial that I have created so I hope that it is easy to follow and all makes sense!

Finished examples are at the end of this tutorial or can be viewed in this post or this post.

Here is my template...

I used a 12x12 sheet of cardstock and cut it down to an 8x12 sheet of cardstock. Save the 4x12 piece for a later step.

1~ Along the 12" side of your cardstock, score a line 1 3/4" in from the edge of the cardstock.

2~ Turn your paper to the 8" side and score a line 1/2" in on each side.

3~ With the paper in the same direction, score a line 5" in from each side. These lines should be 2" apart in the center of cardstock when finished with this step.

4~ Turning your paper so it's in the trimmer the 12" way, measure in (with the previous 1 3/4" score to your left) 4 1/4" and cut in 1/2" to the score line on the top and then from the bottom.

5~ Along the top of the cardstock (1 3/4" score line at bottom) measure in with a ruler 2 1/2" and make a tiny pencil mark.

6~ Cut the 1/2" strip off both sides starting at the top down to where you made the 1/2" cut in Step 4. You can do this with your trimmer or a scissors.

7~ Turn paper diagonally in the trimmer lining up the bottom corner of this cut and the pencil mark you made in the trimmer track and score line.

8~ Move paper back 1/2" so score line lines up with 1/2" line on left side of trimmer and cut this triangular piece off.

9~ Now you will take your scissors and cut the remaining cut lines. On the 1 3/4" score line, cut in from both ends to the 1/2" score line. On the bottom, cut in to the 1 3/4" score line on the 2 center lines. Your cardstock should look like this when you are done.

10~ Now take the 4x12 piece that you cut off to start and cut a 2x4 piece off the end of it.

11~ Take the 2x4 piece and score a line 1 1/2" in from one end and fold. (Remember the valley when you are scoring is the peak when you are folding)

12~ You should now have 2 pieces that look like this in front of you.

13~ Take your adhesive runner and apply adhesive to the diagonal flaps that we created, fold these over and press down. These will just help reinforce the edges.

14~ Do this to both sides and it should look like this when finished.

15~ Flip your cardstock over and then take your 2x4 piece and adhere it to either 2 1/2"x1/2" flap on the side. This will be the front of your file box. This is how it should look when you are finished doing this.

16~ Take your adhesive runner and adhere all the flaps that will fold up to form the box together. Once you have adhered all the flaps together it should look like this.

17~ place adhesive on the back flap of the front piece and fold over front of box to close it all up. When you are finished you should have one cute little magazine file box! It should look like this - all ready for you to decorate as you wish!

Here are 2 examples that I have from a previous post...

Thanks for stopping by! Have fun with these! After you make one, you'll be addicted! lol!

Headboard pictures...as promised!

2008-10-22T22:16:00.002-04:00

Well I finally remembered to go up and take pictures of our headboard all attached to the bed tonight. Either he's in bed sleeping or Kaitlin's napping when I think of it! lol! This is one of the projects that the hubby and I accomplished over his 7-off. We are so proud of ourselves, we didn't think it would turn out so nice. We designed it ourselves and made it out of scrap 2x4's, plywood and trim that was lying around out in the garage. Total cost was about $32.00. That was for an extra 8' piece of the trim around the inside of the rectangles ($16), a quart of grey primer($8) and a quart of black paint($8). We have been together 13 years and have never had a headboard on our bed till now!

Forgot to taking pictures while we were building it, didn't think of it till I had already started priming!

Starting the first coat of black.

Worst first coat ever! I hate black paint!

All painted...Ready to attach to bed!

Finally finished!

Closer shot of it...

Three beds in the Master bedroom! I NEED a bigger house!

Good thing I have a pretty big bedroom, it's not really cramped at all! I still NEED a bigger house! lol Thanks to GW it will be a long time before that happens!

No creative juices here!

2008-10-21T21:26:00.002-04:00

Ok, so tonight I wanted to use my new Martha Stewart Halloween punches. I got the picket fence and the bat this weekend and was really excited about them - who doesn't like new loot! Anyway, when I sat down tonight to use them I hit major scrappers block! My creative juices done dried up and headed south I think. So neat less to say, I still tried my best and came up with this card that I'm just not feeling. I don't know what it is, something is not right or it needs something. I gave up trying to figure it out, lol. Hopefully the creative juices flow better tomorrow. I think its from lack of sleep!

My youngest is sick right now. Has a cold or something, taking her to Dr tomorrow, She hasn't eaten a thing all day. I asked her if she was on a liquid diet and she said "Yes, I diet!" I about died. Too darn cute. Why can't they stay cute like that forever?

In the middle of the night we had a bee incident last night. I was sleeping good till about 12:30am when I woke up to her screaming that she was being attacked by a bee. I think one of our box elder beetle or stink bug friends may have picked a bad place to land last night. We have them everywhere. I just tell myself they will all be dead soon! She startled me out of my sleep so bad it even woke the baby up. Well she was rompin and rollin then and I can't fall asleep when she's kickin, I think about what she's doing in there the whole time. By the time she settled down, I couldn't get comfortable and was restless the rest of the night tossing and turning. At least I'm not the only one running on empty today!

Hubby was falling asleep on the couch this morning. I asked him what the matter was. "I'm tired" he said. I was like "what? 12 hrs of sleep not enough?" He said "no, I didn't sleep at all last night" I was like "hmm, how come" he said "cuz you weren't" I laughed at him!

Ok, ok, I'll get to it already! Jumping off my soap box! Here's the card. I hope you like it better than I do! lol

A close up of the bats...hard to tell but they are 3-D.

I used Martha Stewart's creepy fence and bat punch. Paper Shaper's 2" scallop circle punch. SU's 1 3/8" circle punch. CM's 1 1/2" circle punch. Cuttlebug's circles embossing folder. Ribbon from Michaels. Halloween paper from Provo Craft. Orange & black cs is some bargain brand cs from Michaels.

A pretty little spot for loose change!

2008-10-20T19:35:00.002-04:00

I had a couple of these cans that I had saved from my daughter's baby cereal days sitting around collecting dust.

The other day I was cleaning off my washing machine and had all this loose change that I've found in pockets here and there lying in a little dish atop my machine. I thought to myself "I should make myself a little piggy bank to put all of this in." So between loads I went looking for something and stumbled across the baby cereal cans - perfect! This is what I came up with! I am so happy with the way that it turned out, I'm making a second to send to my mother!

here it is!!!

a little different angle...

side detail...

top detail...

All the goodies used...Patterned paper - My Mind's Eye, Cardstock - Bazzill & Close to My Heart, Flowers - Prima, Brads (pewter & colonial white) - Close to My Heart, Photo Hangers - Close to My Heart, Ribbon is from JoAnn's, Computer font - Pharmacy (free download off internet)

Season of Friendship!

2008-10-18T11:53:00.003-04:00

I just got this stamp set from SU the other day and I Love it! I also love Jen Del Muro's sketch challenge every week over at i{heart}2stamp and I want to try to participate every week but this week I didn't get to do it right away because hubby was home all week. So last night I quick whipped up this little number for my way last minute entry. I think it turned out pretty cute.
Here is the sketch...

Here's my take on it...

You can also see a bigger picture of it if you click here.

For the scallopped circle I used my CM circle cutters and the SU corner rounder/scallop punch. I cut the first circle out of colonial white cs with the smallest circle's outside using the red blade. Then I cut the chocolate circle out with the same small circle using the blue blade. I then used the scallop punch all the way around and it just so happened that they all fit perfectly, I didn't have that last funny scallop to hide! lol

The Chocolate and Autumn Terracotta leaves are cut out and pop-dotted for the extra added dimension. The pumkin and small pinked circle were done with Quikutz. The buttons are CTMH & SU.

Everything else...
Close to My Heart ~
Inks: Chocolate, Autumn Terracotta, Desert Sand & Olive
Cardstock: Chocolate, Textured Autumn Terracotta, Olive & Colonial White
Ribbon: Olive
Pewter Photo Hanger, Pewter Brads, Edge Distresser

Stampin Up ~ Season of Friendship Stamp set, Autumn Vine Designer Paper, Corner Rounder/Scallop maker punch

Creative Memories ~ Circle Cutters

Hubby's back to work ~ Back to reality for me!

2008-10-17T16:19:00.002-04:00

I love having him home for a whole week. We get so much done together! I love it!

Today is the first day that I have been able to sit down and work on anything. It's been one project around the house after another. My sister asked if I'm nesting. I said 'No' stuff just needs to get done now or once the little one is here it's just going to sit unfinished a few more months! I will probably spend most of my weekend getting caught up on laundry, again! I could swear I just had it all done a few days ago! It's a never ending job! Gives me an excuse to stamp or scrap though! My laundry room is in the basement right next to my craft area, someone has to watch the machine and listen for the dryer, right! lol

I have seen these little guys everywhere! They are so stinking cute! I love 'em! These will be invites for my son's 6th birthday party. He turns 6 the 24th but we aren't having his party till the 1st cuz my sister and her family will be in town visiting for Halloween. Thanks for stopping by! Happy stamping & scrapping!

I used...
**Close to My Heart Cardstock & inks~ Autumn Terracotta, Olive, Hydrangea and White Daisy.
**Stampin' Up punches~ 1" circle, 1/2" circle, Round Tab and Top Note Bigz Die (by sizzix)
**Zig marker - black

Where oh where have I been?

2008-10-12T20:05:00.003-04:00

Knockin' off the 'honey-do' list! I have not done any stamping or scrapping since Wednesday of last week. My husband works that crazy 12 hour swing shift schedule so he is on his 7 days off right now getting ready to change ends of the week. Since we have no money to go on vacation during this time, I like to take full advantage of having him around for 7 days in a row and put the boy to work! lol! So far this week we have gotten the...

1~staircase painted
2~a king size headboard built and finished for our bed (pictures coming!)
3~cleaned the garage
4~worked on his camaro a bit
5~cleaned the dehumidifier and put it away for the winter
6~changed the furnace filters
7~fixed the toilet in my master bathroom (handle was getting stuck and it was running all the time if you didn't lift it after you flushed)
8~cleaned my bedroom & closet
9~attached headboard to my bed
10~moved Kaitlin into a 'big girl' bed (tonight the first night! keeping fingers crossed!)
11~made room for baby in my bedroom (we now have 2 beds & a crib in my bedroom, I need a bigger house,I would have it too if the economy wouldn't have taken a crap!)
12~killed the weeds in the yard

2 1/2 days left till he goes back to work. Plenty of time to get a few more things done! Bear with me a few more days and I will start posting pretty stuff again! Thanks for dropping by! Happy stamping and scrapping!

How many of ME?

2008-10-07T14:32:00.002-04:00

Would you believe it if I told you there are 234 of me! Yep! 234 Amy Keller's in the US! That's a lot! There are 688,540 Amy's and there are 103,815 Keller's in the US. My friend found out about this website through one of her friends and posted it on her blog so I had to try it too!! Find out how many of you there are...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
234
people with my name in the U.S.A.

http://howmanyofme.com">How many have your name?

There are 344 of my hubby, 4 of my oldest daughter, 5 of my son, and 5 of my youngest daughter - one of which goes to the same pediatrician as I do...what are the odds with only 5 of them nation wide! I am the only person with my maiden name though of the whole 427 people total that have the same maiden last name as me!

A Scrappy Christmas!

2008-10-06T21:31:00.003-04:00

I had a bunch of scraps left over from the flip book that I made and used some of them to make this card. Not bad for scraps I tell myself. If only I'd use up my scraps more often I wouldn't have 2 tons of paper snips and scraps laying around. Note to self: Use scraps first! lol. Anyway, thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping and stamping to you!

I couldn't decide which photo to use so I posted all 3!

All Close to My Heart on this one - Creative Basics Evensong, Christmas Melodies stamp set, Cranberry ribbon, ink & cs, New England Ivy ink & cs.

Technique - The Ivy circle is 3 pieces of paper stacked to get multi-color & dimensional effect. A 2" New England Ivy circle, image stamped in cranberry and punched with 1 3/4" punch, image stamped in New England Ivy and punched with 1 3/8" punch.

Sparkles are from Michaels, Corner Bracket is Cuttlebug, Lace Punch is Martha Stewart.

Nothing Fancy Today - Just a Little Fall Gift Bag...

2008-10-05T19:32:00.004-04:00

Good Evening Peeps! That is my 9 yr old daughters latest and greatest! We aren't people, friends, ordinary Joe Schmo's, we are "peeps"! I about fell to the floor laughing the first time she said it! I guess, each generation to their own, right! Anyway, I saw something like this on one of my many blog hopping fests and couldn't find it again and didn't save a picture or the template so I had to make up my own. This was my first try at it and I think it turned out pretty cute for a trial run! What do you think...

It's pretty small, only stands a little over 4 1/2 inches tall and 3 inches wide. I even used moldy oldy paper I had laying around, didn't want to use anything new or good! lol! I used CTMH's Harvest Level 2 paper, chocolate waxy flax, Summer Wave Goodbye stamp set, twill ribbon and colonial white cardstock. The button and 2' scallop circle are from AcMoore. The smaller scallop circle punch and Scallop edge punch are SU.

Here is the template...

Cut the solid lines, score the dashed lines. The shaded area is scrap.

Hooray! It's World Card Making Day!

2008-10-04T14:34:00.002-04:00

Good Day Everyone! It's World Card Making Day! Over at I{heart}2stamp, Jen del Muro's awesome blog, she is hosting a World Card Making Day sketch challenge and I thought I'd join in on the fun. Here is her sketch...

Here is what I did with it...

I used all Close to My Heart on this one...
~Enchanted Level 2 paper pack,
~D1180 Happy Haunting stamp set
~Cardstock: Garden Green, Smokey Plum, Autumn Terracotta, White Daisy
~Inks: Black, Grey Wool, Garden Green, Smokey Plum, Autumn Terracotta
~Markers: Garden Green, Olive, Autumn Terracotta, Brown Bag, Vineyard Berry, Garnet, Grey Flannel.
~Paper Piercer
~Pewter Brads

A Curly Lacey Thank You! A clean basement and a mishap...

2008-10-03T10:33:00.004-04:00

Where was I yesterday and the day before? Hmmmm..... The day before, I was cleaning my basement. For those of you that know me and my basement, you know how it looks like nothing more than a catch all bin for the rest of my house! For those of you that don't, well that is exactly what it has turned into, a big 'ole dump site. It is not finished by any means but it is supposed to be my laundry room/scrapbook studio/home office/spare bedroom/overflow toy area. Well after 12 hours of arduous cleaning and picking up, I may have finally somewhat accomplished it to looking like that! (that just made no sense at all, but you catch my drift! lol) I got'r done! Laundry room still needs a little more tlc but I ran out of time. I was too exhausted by the end of the day to post. That is my goal for today.

Yesterday...Well do you really want to know? I got rear-ended by some little 'ole grandma (with her infant grandson in the car) yesterday! This is the 2nd time I've been rear-ended in out Geo Tracker. It's bright friggin Blue! How can people not see me? I talked to my sister last night and she couldn't believe it either but she had the most fantabulous idea for me. You know them big 'ole reflective orange triangle you see on farm tractors? Yep, I'm going to tractor supply this afternoon to get me one and I'm gonna stick it right on the spare tire in the back! Maybe then people will stop running in to me!

Our Tracker looks very similair to this one...

This all started because I needed to go to Wal Mart yesterday morning to get pull-ups for my daughter and it just so happened that my girlfriend/neighbor Lisha had to go to. She needed computer printer ink. So off we went, just her and I. Kaitlin stayed home with daddy and her daughter and the 2 girls she babysits stayed home with the MIL. We were both excited, mommy's morning out! Yeah for us! Woo hoo!

All was going well till the checkout at Wal Mart when the cashier decided to short-cut her job and scan all 6 of my frozen juices as the same juice - cranberry, the most expensive juice that I bought! It was $2.12 a can, I bought 4 white grape raspberry @ $1.47 a can and 1 passion fruit @ $1.08 a can. Now I would not have complained if she had done this with the passion fruit, hey, there loss is my reward, right! No, she had to pick the most expensive one, robbing me of $4.00! In these times, $4 is $4! I need every penny! We would not discover this robbery of sorts until we were in the McDonald's drive thru. We needed a sweet tea!

As we were sitting in the McD's drive thru I some how started looking at my Wal Mart receipt and noticed what had happened. I asked Lisha if she minded if we ran back real quick since Wal Mart was right there. She was fine with that. So instead of heading home with or super-delicious sweet teas in hand we are headed back to Wal Mart! I took me only a couple of minutes to run in and get the problem corrected. The lady working the customer service desk was really nice to me too. So now I have my $4 back! Yeah! Back home we go. So we thought!

We got all the way to the red light by Lowe's. We were 4 or 5 cars back, just sitting there minding our own business, chit-chatting and out of nowhere......BAM! I screemed, she screemed, I said "what the heck just happened?" we just got rear-ended. God love Lisha! The first thing she does when the lady comes up to my door is rubs it all up in her face that I am pregnant! Thinking back now, it's kinda funny. The lady never even mentions that there's an infant in her car until we get out to check for damages and Lisha spots the baby in the back seat. I was like, dam, you must have made her feel really bad bout hitting a pregnant lady! lol. The baby, thank god, was still sound asleep as if nothing had ever happened! Our vehicles had no damage other than a bunch of big black scuff marks and scratches on her car. The tracker is a little tank! Just don't any one out there get the idea to t-bone me. That I'm afraid would be an all together different story. Front or back though, we're GOOD! After 3 collisions, I think it's safe to make that conclusion! lol! (My Hubby rear-ended some lady last summer)

Anyway, to concluded my rambling about yesterdays adventure, we are both fine. My OB made me go to the ER to get checked out and then I had to have a non-stress test done on the baby and all is well. Lisha's ok, I'm ok and most importantly, the baby is ok! I won't even go into detail about how totally incompetant WMC's ER is! After 6 exhausting hours there, I finally made it home in one piece! The L&D staff made my day! They are a great group of girls up there!

Now to finally get to my card! I had some scraps left over from when I made the Magazine File Thank You Cards for Mary so I thought I'd use 'em up right away! This is my little creation. Thanks for stopping by and listen to me ramble on about my saga! Enjoy and Have a Safe & Wonderful Day!

What do you get when you lock 2 friends/CTMH consultants in a basement for 14 hours and let their creative minds work?

2008-09-30T12:44:00.004-04:00

This beautiful flip album! The tutorial (a printable .pdf!) for which, can be found here. Thank You Amy Celona! We followed the basic bones of the album but all of the details within were custom designed by Tara and I with the help of a very long list of supplies! See end of post, it's a biggie!

My good friend Tara Snyder came over Friday night for a Tastefully Simple party that I was having with the intentions of spending the night and we would crop. Well we got the big idea of giving this flip album a try. So down to the scrapping dungeon we went!

We got ourselves in real deep on this one! lol! We went to bed finally at 4am Saturday morning after putting 7 hours in on this. We really had the creative juices flowing! Later Saturday morning we were back at it for about 3 hours and then decided we needed a break.

Michael's and AC Moore were calling our names! We headed there to get 'sparkles'. We needed little red rhinestones for the holly berries so that was the excuse we used for our great escape! When we returned, we ate supper and back at it we went until we finished 4 hours later. We hit the hay finally around 12:30am.

I think I wore poor Tara out on this one, she's not used to burning the midnight oil like I am and this was even a stretch for me! I finally got a glimpse of what used to be my ankles today - 3 days later, the swelling from sitting on my tush for 14 hours finally went down enough to kinda see my ankle bones! Yay!

Swollen ankles was a small price to pay for this very needed weekend with a friend to kinda do what we wanted and most certainly enjoyed. So I am giving a big shout out to Tara "THANK YOU SO MUCH!" I really needed this and had a great time with you this past weekend! You are an AWESOME friend and downline. A big "THANK YOU" to my wonderful hubby too who took care of the kids all weekend!

Tara finally made her big escape Sunday morning! All 3 of my children woke up looking for her and were disappointed she was gone! My youngest Kaitlin (she'll be 3 in Nov.) really took a shining to her this weekend. Poor Tara thought that Kaitlin would never warm up to her! Well Kaitlin not only warmed up to her but Tara become her BFF this weekend! It was so cute, she couldn't get enough of her!

Thank You for stoppping by! Happy Scrapping and Stamping to you!

The Cover...

Flip #1...

Flip #2...

Flip #3...

Flip #4...

Flip #5...

Flip #6...

Flip #7 & 8...

Close up of Flip 7 & 8...

Flip #9...

Flip #10...

Close up of center...

Close up 1...

Close up 2...

Close up 3...

Close up 4...

Close up 5...

Close up of poem...

View from above...

View of front open...

THE LIST!

Close to My Heart ~
Markers: Cranberry, Barn Red, Olive, New England Ivy, Creme Brulee, Grey Wool, Grey Flannel, Honey & Crystal Blue
Inks: Heavenly Blue, Cranberry, Black, New England Ivy & Honey
Cardstock: Garden Green, Cranberry, New England Ivy, olive, Colonial White & Buttercup
Clear Sparkles, Creative Basics Evensong, Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon, B1313 Merry Pursuits stamp set, D1313 December Word Puzzle stamp set, D1324 Christmas Melodies stamp set, D1243 Peace on Earth stamp set, Colonial White Bigger Brads, Gold Brads.

Creative Memories ~ Mini Circle Shape Maker punch, Snowflake punch

Stampin' Up ~ 1 3/8" Circle punch, 1 3/4" Circle punch, Ticket Corner punch, Scallop Edge punch, Round Tab punch, Scallop Circle punch & Horizontal Slot punch.

Cuttlebug ~ Snowflakes #2, Scallop Squares, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder

Sizzix ~ Hanging Snowflake #2, Sizzlits Snowflake #6

Other ~ Quikutz Blossum Shapes Square die, Red & Green Sparkles from Michaels, Martha Stewart Snowflake punch, Vellum, Marvy Uchida 2" Circle punch, Joann's Essentials Star Brad, Coluzzle Library Pocket Template, Computer Font - French Script MT

As promised...Here's the 2nd set...

2008-09-29T20:38:00.003-04:00

This is the second set of cards that I made for my friend Mary. I got word today that she loves them! I am sooooo glad! Thanks for stopping by to take a peek!

So cute!

Card close-up!

The 2 side by side! (I want some for me!)

Products used...
~Close to My Heart - Life Delights level 2 paper pack, Chocolate ink, Hollyhock ink, Blush ink, Colonial White Brads and Be True stamp set. CS colors are Chocolate, Hollyhock, Blush and Colonial White.
~Stampin' Up - One of a Kind stamp set, Cute and Curly stamp set, Curly Label punch, Scallop Edge punch, Boho Blossoms punch

A Little Something for Mary

2008-09-28T11:43:00.002-04:00

A very dear friend of mind asked me to make a little something for our friend Mary who needs all of our thought and prayers for her and her son this weekend while they head off to Pittsburgh's Childrens Hospital for the next 2 months. (Nothing serious so far, just testing) This is what I came up with. I had no cash to offer so I thought I'd offer a little time and talent instead. I really hope she likes them and not to much either that she won't want to use them! lol (I'll make you more if you run out Mary!!!) Thanks for looking and next time you look up, say an extra prayer for my friend Mary. Sorry, but I don't have a template for this yet, I made it as I went along.

I will post a second set that I made for her tomorrow.

Products used...
~Close to My Heart - Life Delights level 2 paper pack, Chocolate ink, Simple Stitches Stamp Set, Say It In Style Stamp Set, Spot On Backgrounds Stamp Set. CS colors are Sweet Leaf, Hollyhock, Chocolate, Colonial White.
~Stampin' Up - So Many Scallops Stamp Set

Call the Pope! A miracle has happened!

2008-09-25T18:34:00.009-04:00

What miracle would that be, you ask! I actually remembered to buy batteries for my digital camera!!! I can't believe it either! So now I can get y'all caught up on what I've been working on.

I saw this stamp set in our new Close to My Heart Autumn/Winter Idea Book and knew I just had to have it. It is currently one of my favorites! It is called Merry Pursuits. Then I saw this little box on SplitCoastStampers and had to make one of these too. The tutorial can be found here. The cute little cards are all 3x3. All products listed can be found at the end of post. Thanks for stopping by!

The box...

The cute little cards...

A better pic of the top of the box...

All products used are Close to My Heart unless otherwise stated

~Markers - Olive, New England Ivy, Cranberry, Barn Red, Creme Brulee, Crystal Blue, Honey, Grey Wool, Grey Flannel

~Creative Basics Evensong Collection, White Daisy cs, Cranberry cs, Garden Green cs, Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon, Merry Pursuits Stamp Set, Merry Melodies Stamp Set.

~Fiskars Border Punch ~ Threading Water

Family Favorites! Such a pretty place to put them!

2008-09-21T21:10:00.002-04:00

Another month has gone by, my oh my! Where have I been? Well I've been very tired and pregnant! Sorry! It has taken me this long to get over the shock of it. I've been in denial! I am now 21 weeks! Yay, over half way! I told hubby the other day that I ought to be sleeping day and night by the time I'm full term! I can't get through the day without a nap! Is that normal? I am 31 now and this is #4 but still, I have never been this tired! My other excuse is... my batteries are dead in my digital! Do you think that I can remember to buy a pack just one of the many times I am at Wal Mart? Nope, not a chance. I bet I've been there 30 times now and have gotten home and said to myself..."Oh crap, I forgot to buy stinkin batteries AGAIN!" It sure would be nice if I could take more than like 10 pictures before the batteries died too!

ANYWAY...I made this a while back. It is one of my favorite pieces. I used everything Close to My Heart on it. They have this great little recipe card kit that coordinates beautifully with the Let's Get Together paper pack. The tin was a clearance find at Wal Mart...$1! Can't beat that! What else can I tell you about this...hmmm...it's late and I can't think straight. lol.

Oh, the flowers on the front are stamped with white acrylic paint on transparency film. This is super easy to do. I just blot a sponge in the white paint and then on to my stamp. When u go to stamp on the film, make sure the 'textured' side is up and press straight down and lift straight up. It will be very slippery so you have to be steady when you stamp it. Set aside to let dry. Once dry, cut out and apply to project as normal. I used YES paste to adhere my paper to the tin. It works wonderful. Doesn't wrinkle your paper one bit.

Well thanks for stopping by an taking a look. I need to go to bed now. Have to be all rested up for Monday morning! Doesn't everyone love Monday's!

Outside...

Top view...

Inside...

Recipe Card Dividers...

Just a little bit vintage...

2008-08-18T13:43:00.003-04:00

This card came out to look a little bit vintage to me, but I love it! I made this for my sister who turns 32 next week. I bought this new lacy border punch at Wally World, it's Martha Stewart! Oooohhhh! (I am so NOT a Martha fan, but I liked the punch) This card uses a little bit of everything on it from Close to My Heart to Stampin Up to Prima. I have all supplies listed below. Thanks for stoppin by and takin a peek!

Shh, I have a little secret too!
I can not find my pop dots, have no idea where they have gone! To improvise, I used my 1" circle punch and cut out 3 circles from CS. I glued and stacked them together under the Happy Birthday center of the flower and it gave the same effect and only I am any the wiser. (Well, those of you reading this are too now! LOL!)

Supplies used...
Close to My Heart ~ Just Blooms Big Pinks, Barn Red Organdy Ribbon, Love charm, Barn Red textured CS, Colonial White CS, Pewter Bigger Brads, Barn Red ink & marker, Blush textured CS, Edge Distresser
Stamin UP ~ Scalloped Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, So Many Scallops stamp set
Prima~ red flowers
Martha Stewart ~ Lace Border Punch
Fiskars ~ 1/16th Hole Punch
Pattern Paper ~ oops, I forgot! :o( (it is double sided with the stripes & flowers I used)
Creative Memories ~ 1 1/4" Circle Punch

No Lion, You're the BEST!

2008-08-02T12:38:00.002-04:00

No Lion, really!! I found an interesting sketch on one of my favorite blogs today and just had to try it. I just got this stamp set and was dying to make something with it. It is Close to my Heart's July Stamp of the month "Life's a Jungle". I think this turned out super cute. I got the idea for the mane from one of our corporate publications and had to give it a whirl. Thanks for stoppin' by!

a little close up of the details & dimension...

I used the following supplies...
Close to My Heart ~ Boom-di-Ada level 2 paper pack, Life's a Jungle stamp set, Garden Green ink & CS, Buttercup ink & CS, Barn Red ink & CS, Black ink, Bamboo textured CS, Colonial White CS, Autumn Harvest Sassy Strands and Liquid Glass.
Stampin Up ~ Scalloped Circle Punch, Antique Copper brads & Photo Clip
Prima ~ flowers

CASED! Make a wish!

2008-07-26T16:28:00.002-04:00

I was browsing some of my favorite blogs the other day and found a beautiful birthday card that I knew I just had to try to re-create. It was designed by Amy Sheffer and the sketch is from Jen del Muro. I changed a little here and there and used all Close to My Heart papers and the result is below. This is for my daughter's girlfriend who is turning 8. I am really kinda pleased with the way it turned out.

Here is the link to the card I cased...
http://pickledpaperdesigns.blogspot.com/2008/07/eight-is-enough.html
Here is the link to the card sketch it was designed from...
http://iheart2stamp.com/2008/07/19/sketch-for-you-to-try-7/

I used the following supplies...
Close to my Heart ~ Good Times paper pack, Good Times My Stickease, White Daisy textured CS, Sweet Leaf & Twilight textured CS from Winter Cozy combo pack, Corner rounder punch, Tiny Typewriter stamp set, chocolate waxy flax, Liquid Glass
Cuttlebug ~ Swiss Dots Embossing Folder
Quickutz ~ Balloons
Stampin Up ~ Spiral punch
AcMoore ~ Rhinestones, Eyelets
Provo Craft ~ chipboard 8
Cricut ~ Base Camp cartridge (wish)

OMG! Has it been 2 months?

2008-07-24T16:46:00.003-04:00

You don't even want to know my list of excuses as to why I haven't been posting so I will spare you the details and just get to it!

4th of July Mini album

I have been wanting to create a mini-album lately but didn't know how to go about it. I picked my least favorite paper pack that I had on hand and went to it. This is totally from scratch out of my little brain. The funny thing is... I actually really kind of like this paper now! It is called Blue Ribbon from Close to my Heart. Most of the products used on this album are CTMH. This album is 6x6 and the list of all products used is at the end of this post. Thanks for looking!

Front cover...

Pages 1 & 2...

Pages 3 & 4...

Pages 5 & 6...

Pages 7 & 8...

Pages 9 & 10...

I used the following supplies to create this little masterpiece! lol

Close to My Heart ~ Blue ribbon paper pack, July Word Puzzle stamp set, Genuine Fun stamp set, Snap-Crackle-Pop stamp set, silver brads & bigger brads, corner rounder/scallop maker punch, White Daisy Just Blooms, Honey ink, Buttercup ink, Outdoor Denim ink, Cranberry ink, Cranberry Ribbon, White Daisy Organdy Ribbon, Summer craft buttons.

Stampin Up ~ Scalloped circle punch, Spiral Punch, Night of Navy Buttons.

Red flowers - Prima

Navy Blue Ribbon - Sweet Petites (Michaels)

A few days late on this one...Here's my CTMH version of purse album!

2008-05-08T21:29:00.002-04:00

I am posting this really quick as I promised! All products used are Close to My Heart! Paper pack is Boom-di-Ada Level 2 and Creative Basics. Stamp set is Cottage Florals.

Front...

Back...

Inside...

Inside Detail...

Thanks for Looking!!!

Cutest Card Purse EVER!!!!

2008-05-03T11:41:00.003-04:00

Look what I made Thursday night! I got a much deserved night out of the house. I went over to Kim Evan's house (my SU lady) for my 1st workshop with her and this is what we made! So stinkin' cute! It was originally created by Jan Tink, Click Here for tutorial! We're just all being copycats! lol! With permission of course!

Front...

Back...

Inside...

Inside w/ inserts removed...

This is done with all Stampin' Up products. Tomorrow I will post my Close to My Heart version!

Wet little fingers, wet little toes!

2008-04-29T22:08:00.003-04:00

~I am so sorry that I have not been on here in 2+ weeks. My life has been nothing short of total semi-controlled chaos lately. I spent the last 2 weeks trying to get these pew markers sewn for the church for the 1st communion kids. Only had 56 of them to do and they took 25 minutes each! Yep, you do the math. That was crammed into my already busy life with my 3 wonderful children.
~Then yesterday I decided I need to tear my basement apart to make my scrap area bigger because I'm hosting my first crop here soon. That took all day and I'm still not done but at least I'm caught up on my laundry. My poor washing machine worked as hard as I did yesterday. The only time it stopped was when I could not physically get to it there for awhile because of the mess I had going! Now if I can only get my bathrooms cleaned, I'll be set! Oh yah, gotta mop the kitchen floor too! Any takers out there! lol!
~Softball started for my oldest daughter and Little League for my son. My youngest has gotten so used to being bye-bye every day that she now gets mad at me and throws a little fit in the truck once she recognizes that we are on our way home! "No home Momma, No home!" It's kinda funny actually. Today I left the house at 10:30 and came back home around 5:30 long enough to go to the bathroom and fill a sippy cup and right back out the door again. Left the kids buckled in the truck and everything. I think it took ma all of 3 minutes, it was fast! Then didn't get back home again till 8:30. I am starting to feel like that All American "Soccer Mom" lol! Have to go back out tomorrow and get done what I couldn't finish today! There just aren't enough hour in the day. On top of that, I am sick yet again! I have been on more antibiotics in the last year than I have my entire life I think. Stupid sinus infections, I tell yah!
~ Ok, Pity Party over! I think that's enough whining from me for one night! Why am I whining anyway? I can't stand whining! lol! I can do screaming, crying and carrying on, just not whining! Anywho, I will try to be a better blogger and post more often from here on out! Thanks for listening and stopping by! I hope you enjoy this layout of my hubby and my youngest in the shower. Happy scrapping!

Isn't this layout cute! I was worried when I first started putting this one together but I am very pleased with the way this one turned out! My daughter absolutely loved taking showers with her daddy when she was still a baby. It was always so much fun for me to watch her amazement with the water. She loved to drink the water and still does. I can thank daddy for that one, he taught her how to do that!

An Original by Little 'Ole Me!

2008-04-12T20:59:00.002-04:00

I really kinda love how this one turned out. On this layout I made the most of my background paper and used it in a whole new way. Instead of using it as a 'background', I cut elements out of it and used them as borders and a great accent under my photos. I used the reverse side of it to cut out the flourishes and the title too. My daughter is the most stubborn child when it comes to getting her to smile for the camera. She's almost 2 1/2 and still doesn't cooperate. She has the most beautiful smile too, I will capture it one of these days! lol!

Good Samaritan!

2008-04-09T20:28:00.002-04:00

I had to take my nephew home who was here over spring break. The day I left to take him home (3 hours away) I dropped my drivers license by the pumps at Flying J's and didn't know it. Not until Monday that is, when I got a letter in the mail with it in the envelope! I was shocked and had no idea it was missing. I can't believe that someone picked it up and mailed it back to me! I guess there really are still a few nice people out there these days! I was so thankful that they returned it that I had to make them a card to say 'Thank You', and this is what I came up with. Thanks for looking!

The flower is made with a new Sizzix die (flower petal & center #2). The faux stitching on the bottom was done with a pinking shears. The embossing is Cuttlebug's Distressed Stripes. Colors are Olive, Blush, Chocolate and Colonial White.

Latest but not a favorite...

2008-04-04T13:39:00.002-04:00

I think it's the double sentiment that's throwing me off on this one. I did this the night I made the embossing folder storage. I had the ribbon and button made for that and then decided not to use it. The ribbon was already taped so I wanted to make a card quick to put it on so that I didn't have to throw it away and this is the card I came up with. Thanks for stopping by!

I used Free Spirit Level 2 paper pack, Twilight textured cardstock reversed, Colonial White cardstock, Copper brads, White Daisy Just Blooms, Corner Rounder/Scallop Maker punch, So Sweet Seasons stamp set and From Me to You stamp set. Watercolor brush. Indian Corn Blue ink, Honey ink, Desert Sand ink. Chocolate Waxy Flax, Spring Harmony Buttons. Ribbon is from Michaels.

I love how this turned out!

2008-04-03T22:00:00.003-04:00

I did this layout a few weeks back. It is one of the few that I have done so far this year. I was really pleased with the way it turned out.

Close up of 1st page...

Close up of 2nd page...

Can't find the perfect storage? Make it!

2008-04-02T19:38:00.003-04:00

I initially intended this to be a recipe box until I discovered it wasn't tall enough inside to fit dividers in. Sooooo, that's when I had my 'Ah-Hah' moment. My Cuttlebug embossing folders were just stacked up on a shelf and I had been looking for something to put them in. Well guess what? Perfect Fit! I got the recipe boxes at Michaels in their $ bins. Now I have cute storage for one of my favorite tools!

Inside Detail...

Perfect Fit!!!

Welcome Baby Onsie Card

2008-03-31T19:56:00.002-04:00

Ok, so now that I got rid of all the kidos that aren't mine and have nursed my kids back to health, I am sick! Will it ever end? Pink eye (thanks to my daughter poking me in the eye 3 nights ago, it was an accident) and strep or something like that has decided to take up residency in my throat! I don't even remember what my real voice sounds like! lol! I did take a few to sit down and make this super cute and easy onesie card. If you want to know how to make it ~ email me.

I used White Daisy cs, Desert Sand cs, Sweet Leaf cs, Heavenly Blue cs, Dimensional Elements Ribbon Accents, Garden Green brads, White Daisy safety pin, White Daisy Ribbon Rounds collection, Sketchins stamp set and Solos 'w' stamp set. The polka-dot ribbon is from Michaels and the scallops are done with SU's Scalloped Circle Punch, Corner Rounder/Scallop Punch and 1 3/8" Circle Punch. Bear is done in Archival ink and water colored with Desert Sand ink. The words 'welcome' and 'baby' are stamped in Desert Sand ink.

Trying to get caught up!

2008-03-27T23:59:00.003-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted for a couple days, I have been preoccupied with 5 kids! Yep, 5! I have my 3, my nephew for the whole week of spring break and my daughter had her best friend over last night. Put a 9,8,7,5 and 2 year old all in the same house and it can get kinda crazy at times. Especially when the 9 and 5 yr old are constantly fighting for male dominance! Phewww, only 1 more day of craziness left! lol! Here's another card I made a few nights back. It's not one of my best but I kinda like how it turned out. Thanks for stopping!

CTMH Stuff Organizer!

2008-03-27T23:53:00.004-04:00

I was inspired to make this fabulous organizer by a fellow CTMH consultant ~ Jeani Hill. Thanks Jeani! It is great, I can inventory my CTMH collection and reference it at a glance at any time. Sooooo handy! Here it is...

The inner works...

A Blooming Thank You!

2008-03-25T12:36:00.002-04:00

I made this card last night but the hubby was playing poker online so I was nice and didn't post till today! That seem to be our 'quiet time' lately after the kids are in bed. My scrapbook area and computer area are in the same room. So at night, he plays poker and I make cards or scrapbook. We still talk and enjoy each other's company while getting time to do something else that we enjoy too. I call it multi-tasking at it's finest! lol!

I used Blooming Flourishes stamp set, Gracious Greetings stamp set, Outdoor Denim Textured CS, Cranberry Textured CS, Colonial White CS and Black Ink. I used my Prismacolors to color the flowers. The ribbon is from AC Moore. Thanks for looking! Amy

Free Spirit Birthday!

2008-03-21T16:04:00.002-04:00

I made this card just because I was in the mood to make a card! That happens every now and again! lol! I am pleased with the way it turned out. Now need to find someone to send it to!

TECHNIQUE TALK...
~It's hard to tell by the photo, but the black line detail on the flower is stamped on a transparency. To do this, you will need Archival ink, an inkjet transparency and stamp of choice. Lay transparency down so the printable side is up. It is the side opposite the side that is glossy smooth. Ink your stamp with your archival ink and very carefully stamp it on to the transparency. You must be careful to stamp straight down because the stamp will slide around if you are not. This will result in a blurred image. Lift stamp straight up and set aside to dry for a few minutes. Cut out image as desired. In this case I cut close around the image. This technique also works great for card windows or clear acrylic cards.

I used Free Spirit Level 2 Paper Pack, Rustic Flowers stamp set, From Me to You Stamp Set, Legendary Moments stamp set, Solos 'h' stamp set, Clear Transparency, Autumn Terracotta Ribbon Rounds, Indian Corn Blue Ink, Honey Ink, Autumn Terracotta Ink, and Black Ink Pad & Marker. Dry embossing is done with the Cuttlebug Happy Birthday embossing folder.

Cutest, Easiest Little Gifts Ever!

2008-03-19T19:20:00.002-04:00

Got to LOVE Target's $ spot! That is where I picked up these cute little buckets. The flowers are our Big Pinks Just Blooms (CTMH). I made the center with SU's scalloped circle punch, Sensational Seals stamp set and scraps of various coordinating ribbon.

These jumbo paper clips I found in the office supply section of Wal Mart. I attached them to the back of a scalloped circle with a bead of Liquid Glass and set aside to dry. Once they were dry, I put another bead of Liquid Glass on the top of the clip for added durability before I attached a second scalloped circle that I had applied adhesive to before I sandwiched them together.

The notebooks are those cheap little mead notepads. To customize these, bend one side of the spiral out and remove from notebook. Cover the cover with paper, punch holes using original holes a guide. Embellish front and reattach spiral. Don't forget to bend the end back in the way it was to prevent it from coming undone.

OMG! Where has the time gone?

2008-03-19T19:02:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since my last post. It certainly don't seem like it's been that long! Life needs to slow down a little! Just so I can get caught up, lol!

Here is a St. Patrick's Day card that I made for an event I had this past weekend. That took up an entire week of my life to prepare for. This card is super simple! I took 2 different shades of green for a monochromatic look. In this case Garden Green and Olive. I cut them 1/2 smaller than the card and then the 2nd a 1/2 inch smaller than the first and layered them on the card. I then stamped 5 hearts from the Soul Mates stamp set in New England Ivy. I cut four of them out and sponged the edges with ink. To get the vein of the 'leaf', I folded the heart in half and inked the folded edge. The last heart, I free-hand cut out a stem and inked it. Arrange in a four-leaf clover shape on card and stamped sentiment at the bottom. For added interest and dimension, I pop-dotted the 'leaves' right behind the dip of the top of the heart.

Happy Hellos!

2008-02-26T10:14:00.002-05:00

This card was created because I goofed up on a scrapbook layout! The background paper was cut 1/4 in to small for my layout. I don't know what I was thinking! lol! Anyway, I had this perfectly good piece of paper and thought "What am I gonna do with this?" Uh, hah! I'll make a card! I said to myself.

To start, I took the background paper and cut some chocolate cs to make the card base. Then I took a piece of scrap pattern paper and placed it across the front (green floral). I then stamped the flourish from SU's Priceless set on top of that. (Can you tell what my favorite stamp is right now? lol) Take the butterfly stamp from that same set and color his antennae and body only with a black marker and stamp above flourish and off to side where you want them to be placed. On a separate piece of cs stamp the whole butterfly with your wing color. To add more interest, I traced around the details of the butterfly with a black marker. Cut both of those out. Fold butterfly in half, right sides together and place glue on underside of body. Place that on top of body you stamped on card. Take a pop dot and place one under both wings and curl wings around it. Repeat this for 2nd butterfly. To make sentiment I stamped the circular scallop with stamp from SU's So Many Scallops and punched out the center with a circle punch and punched out the whole image with scalloped circle punch. Hint: It works best (for me anyway) if you punch out the scallop first then the center circle. On a separate piece of paper I stamped a sentiment from SU's Lots of Thoughts set and punched it out with the scalloped circle punch. I then glued the first piece on top and adhered it to the card. That about does it, now I gotta find someone to mail it to! lol! TFL :)

Super Simple! Super Cute!

2008-02-26T10:01:00.002-05:00

This card was soooooo simple, I can't believe it turned out this cute! I took a standard card base and placed a piece of background paper that is 1/4 inch smaller than card on it. Then I stamped the flourish from SU's Priceless set in the center of the card. Stamp flower from SU's O Many Scallops and punch out with your scallop circle punch, place that above flourish. Then I stamped sentiment from SU's Riveting set and punched out with circle punch and placed that on the flower. Tie some organdy ribbon around the card and 'voile'! You're done!

Stepping out of the 'Comfort Zone'

2008-02-23T13:39:00.005-05:00

~This page is way out of my 'Comfort Zone', I never do pages like this! It even felt awkward and uncomfortable while I was working on it! lol! I love how this turned out though. They say nothing stimulates your creativity more though than when you push yourself beyond the normal realm of what you are used to!

~It all started when I got this months issue of Memory Makers magazine(March 08). On page 36 was a sketch done by Becky Fleck (author of Page Maps) that really caught my eye. I don't know what it was, but I really liked it. I had these crazy pictures of the kids eating bomb pops and thought they would be perfect on a layout like this. I even got out the 'ole sewing machine, yep, that stitching across the top if the real thing! lol! Sorry that the picture kinda sucks, camera was having a bad day I guess!

What I used...~Paper: Deja Views, Red & Blue ~Cardstock: DCWV, White Cardstock: CTMH ~Stamps: Stampin' Up, ~Page Tab: Sizzix ~Small Red Flowers: Prima ~Large Flower: Cricut & Accent Essentials Cartridge, Bazzill Cardstock, CTMH Rub-ons ~Scallop: CTMH Corner Rounder ~Title: Cricut, Opposites Attract Cartride, Plantin' Schoolbook Cartridge, CTMH black brads.

Circle of Love...

2008-02-22T00:07:00.004-05:00

~This card took me awhile. I had the idea but wasn't quite sure how to put it to paper. It is much prettier in person. The picture does it no justice. I used a 5x7 card base. I knew my background was going to be Paper Garden from CTMH, it is one of my favorites right now.
~I then stamped the largest image of D1260 Endless Love (February Stamp of the Month) with Smokey Plum on Colonial White cs. I then took my exacto knife (it was really quick & easy) and cut the center out and ink around the edges with Smokey Plum again. I used my CM mini circle shape maker to crop the corners. You only stick the very corner in, about a quarter way into the circle.
~I then created a mat for my image out of Smokey Plum cardstock and mountd the image on it. After that I set the pewter brads in the corners.
~To apply the rhinestones to my image I used Liquid Glass, just a tiny little drop will do for each. They dried really quick. I never realized what an excellent adhesive Liquid Glass is! Worked awesome!
~The sentiment is also in the Endless Love stamp set. I stamped it in black on Colonial White and then matted it on Sweet Leaf cs. I mounted it half way in to the center circle of the main image.
~The little flourish at the end of the sentiment was done the same as the main image only I 'fussy cut' it out with my Micro-tip scissors for more detail and dimension.
~The flowers are Prima. Those were applied with Glue dots. Glue dots are to a scrapper like butter is to bread! Gotta have them, and I never run out! For the centers I just used pewter brads, pewter bigger brad and a green button I had in my stash.

That about does it. Over all, this card is fairly easy. I would say that a beginner would have no problem recreating it. Thanks for stopping by, have a good one and Happy Scrappin'!

My first pages for hire...

2008-02-20T22:24:00.007-05:00

I'm sure all of you know that I am a Close to My Heart consultant. Well I was at an open house in mid November 07 when a gal came over to my display and started looking at some of my artwork I had on my display board and in an album I had displayed. I guess she fell in love, she really like what I did, my style and the detail that I put into my projects. One thing led to another and she asked if I would make a layout for her Niece for Christmas. I guess this was her Niece's 1st major production that she was in and had a lead role. She wanted something special and just didn't have the time before the holidays to do it. I thought, hmmm Christmas present?, no pressure there! Anyway I agreed and this is what I came up with(6 hours later! lol!). Yes, she loved them and said they were a big hit Christmas Day. Whooo, big sigh of relief there!

Close up of Page 1...Yes that's real stitching

Close up of Page 2...Font and flourishes were cut on my cricut.

Layout with File Folder open - this hides the program from the production. It also gives additional room for 2 more photos.
Close up of the File Folder open...

This was a custom creation. I came up with the layout on my own. Couldn't cheat on this one because I wanted to be able to include the program. It wasn't the prettiest so I wanted to hide it and this was the concept that drove the creation of the layout.

Valentine's Day Treat Bags for my kids!

2008-02-13T23:50:00.003-05:00

I slaved away at these for days and days and days! Just Kidding! It only took me about 2 hours to make 50 of them. These are for my 5 & 8 year old to take to school and hand out to their class mates on Valentine's Day. They were both really excited. My daughter though, being the over-intelligent 8 year old that she is says "Mom, they are awesome but isn't that just wasting paper, I mean they are just going to open them and eat the candy and throw the wrapper away." My response "I know, but shhh and just go away! (with a chuckle)" Kids, I tell yah!

Here's a close up...
Everything is Close to My Heart except the 'Happy Valentine's Day' I made that on the computer. I used Cranberry, Black & White Daisy. The random stamped background uses It's A Party, All My Love and Love of My Life stamp sets in Cranberry, Blush, Pink Carnation and Baby Pink ink. Sorry that it's hard to see, I didn't think to take a picture before I chopped it to pieces! The little bags are lollipop bags made by Wilton from Wally World. They are 3" wide. The top is a piece of 3x4 cranberry cs folded in half and stapled over the bag. The center piece is made using my Cricut, Accent Essentials and George cartridge. The outside is key 4 on the top row of Acc. Ess. shadow shifted @ 2 in". The black is key 1 of Acc. Ess. shadow shifted and the white I made on the printer in Word and it is punched out with a 1 1/2" circle punch. The heart is from the George cartridge and it is 3/4".

My Close to My Heart 'Bella'...

2008-02-10T22:18:00.000-05:00

I am totally in love with the Bella stamps from Stamping Bella. They are so cool! I, however, do not own any of these stamps yet. 'Yet' being the key word in that last sentence! lol! Anyway, I have seen a lot of cards made with her and got inspired to create one of my own so I improvised! How'd I do?

Everything used is Close to My Heart unless otherwise stated. Paper is Simple Pleasures level 2 paper pack, Stamps are from Flower Girls and From Me to You sets. Cardstock colors are Twilight, Colonial White, Bamboo and Desert Sand. I used a Pewter Photo Hanger and Brads. Inks used are Twilight and Desert Sand. I heat embossed the girl using clear embossing powder. The background is dry embossed used the Cuttlebug Swirls embossing folder and my Sizzix machine. The flower are Prima and the ribbon is from Michaels. I think that about does it. Thanks for looking.

A simple 'case' of Love

2008-02-10T21:57:00.000-05:00

I totally cased the idea for this card from one of my favorite websites for ideas - SplitCoast Stampers. To see the original ~ Click here. I turned this card from SU into CTMH in a flash. All I used was a few heart die-cuts (using my bug) and a little white embossing powder.

Everything on this one is CTMH. The base is Black cs. The red mat is Cranberry cs. The white background is White Daisy textured cs. I used the Adorable Backgrounds stamp set for the pattern on the hearts. They are embossed using White Daisy embossing powder. I then matted all 3 heart on White Daisy cs. The white heart I water colored with my water brush and Sweet Leaf & Cranberry ink. The 'Love' is from the Heartfelt stamp set and is stamped in Black ink. I used my Black marker to hand dot the border around the 3 hearts. The center heart is pop-dotted to give it a 3-D look even though you can't really see it in the photo. Now get inspired and go make one of these super easy cards for yourself to give to your 'Love' this Valentine's Day. It's only 4 days away, better get busy!

More Valentine Cards to Adore!

2008-02-10T21:34:00.000-05:00

Had to throw that pun in the title! This first card is made with Close to My Heart's More to Adore level 2 paper pack. I had a thought this evening and this is what it turned in to. I am pleased with how it turned out. What do you think?

I used all Close to My Heart on this card except for the ribbon and flowers. The ribbon and Rik-Rak are from Michaels and the flowers are Prima. I was all out of the little flowers in my White Daisy Just Blooms. I used Solo 'u' stamp set, the 'u' is stamped in Blush ink on Baby Pink CS and matted with Blush cs distressed with Blush ink. The ring of 'love' is also stamped the same way, it is 1 3/4 inches. The outer pink border is Blush textured cs. The striped paper is More to Adore level 2 paper pack. The small circles are 3/4 inch punched from Blush cs, the flower centers are Black brads from My Accents Black. The scalloped white circle was done on my Cricut with the Accent Essentials cartridge using White Daisy textured cs. I used the 4th key in the first row set on 'shift, shadow' at 2 inches. The small white circle in the center is 3/4 of an inch also using White Daisy textured cs. I stamped the 'Love' from the Heartfelt stamp set in Black on White Daisy cs and fussy cut it out.

True Love!

2008-01-27T12:41:00.000-05:00

Another layout I have to find pictures for! LOL

Stamps make great embellishments. Think outside the box and use your stamps to create photo corners. Stamp coordinating images in different size rectangles as I have to create a quick easy embellishment. I heat embossed a stamped sentiment of a ribbon slide to create yet another great embellishment.

Close up of 1st page...

For this layout I used the following Close to My Heart products...Imagine Layout ~ Nice & Simple pg. 72, More to Adore Level 2 paper pack, Chocolate CS, Blush CS, Colonial White CS, Dimensional Elements Ribbon Accents, Big Pinks, Pewter My Accents (conchos & brads), December SOTM ~ In My Heart, Chocolate Ink, Blush Ink, White Daisy Embossing Powder, Versa Mark Pad, White Daisy Just Blooms, Sanding Kit, Chocolate Bigger Brads from Chocolate Medley Assortment.

"True Love" title was created using my Cricut & Plantin Schoolbook cartridge.

Ribbon is from Michaels

Close up of 2nd page...

Bring on the BLING!!

2008-01-27T12:22:00.000-05:00

This card has all the BLING!

*Glitter Glue is one of the easiest ways to add glitter without the mess! I just squeeze a bit out and then take a small paint brush to paint it on where I want it. In this case it was the smaller of the 2 hearts and the ribbon.
*Another way to add sparkle to your projects is with rhinestones. These can usually be found in any craft department or craft store. I just applied them with mini glue dots. If you don't have glue dots, you need to go get yourself some! They are the best thing since...can't think of anything at the moment, but they are a must have! They work on just about any embellishment you can think of.

I used the following Close to My Heart products to create this card... Floral Tapestry Level 2 paper pack, Orchid Bouquet CS, Twilight Textured CS reversed, Colonial White CS, Twilight Ink, Bamboo Ink, Orchid Bouquet Ink, Cranberry Ink, Black Marker, Corner Rounder (scallop), Solos 'U', and Heartfelt Stamp Set. Glitter glue and rhinestones are from Michaels. Ribbon and Ric Rak are JoAnne's Essentials

Valentine's Day is on it's way!

2008-01-27T12:13:00.000-05:00

Better get to making those homemade cards for all of your loved ones! I hope that I can give you a few ideas with some of the cards that I've created so far.

~This card I created with the following Close to My Heart products More to Adore Level 2, Chocolate CS, Blush CS, Colonial White CS, Chocolate Ink, Blush Ink, Winter Craft Buttons, Edge Distressor, Sanding Kit, Dimensional Elements Ribbon Accents, All My Love Stamp Set, Heartfelt Stamp Set, Love of My Life Stamp Set, and Baby Pink Organdy Ribbon. The dry embossing detail was done with a Cuttlebug Swirls embossing folder and Sandpaper. Card size is 4x5.

Cutest Little Snowmen Ever!

2008-01-27T11:39:00.000-05:00

I love how this layout turned out, now to find some cute pictures to go on it! Who'd a thunk that pastels and snowmen would work so good together!

Here is a close up of Page 1...

Here is a close up of Page 2...

All products used are Close to My Heart unless otherwise stated. Floral Tapestry Level 2 paper pack, Twilight textured cs reversed, Garden Green cs, Colonial White cs, Cranberry cs, Desert Sand ink, Twilight ink, November Stamp of the Month ~ Snow Friends, Winter craft buttons, Pewter photo hangers, Sanding kit, Various markers, Floss (DMC), Ribbon (Offray), Fiber (Caron)

Sanding Technique

~To make the sanded border around the photo mats I used a dry embossing stylus, my edge trimmer and sand paper. This technique will only work on White Core cs like Close to My Heart's. For solid core cardstock I use ink to highlight the scribed lines.

1. Cut photo mat to size, leaving a 1/2 inch border all the way around. For a 4x6 photo, you want to cut your mat 5x7 for a double line or 4.5x6.5 for a single line.
2. Insert edge of paper into edge trimmer, make sure blade is docked, so there is about an 1/8 of an inch edge of paper past the blade channel.
3. Use your dry embossing stylus to scribe a line down the side by using the channel as a guide for your stylus.
4. Repeat on the other 3 sides and add a second line if desired an equal distance inside of the 1st line all the way around.
5. Flip paper over so that the raised side is facing up.
6. Used sand paper to sand across the raised lines in the opposite direction all the way around photo mat. Be awoare of the suface you are working on, I have a small mat that I use just for sanding.
7. Brush any excess paper dust off of photo mat, it will prevent adhesive from sticking otherwise.
7. Mount photo
8. Mount photo and mat to scrapbook layout and you are finished!

Sympathy Cards are always the hardest!

2008-01-26T16:43:00.000-05:00

I created this card quite some time ago and just found it stashed in my archives. I love how this card turned out. I always have a hard time creating sympathy cards but this is one of my favorites.

Inside of card

File card is removable to write your message on.

Products used are Pattern paper (Paper Pizzazz), Cardstock (DCWV), Heart punch (McGill), Dove and leaf die cuts (Quickutz), Paper flowers (Prima), Brads (Making Memories), Chocolate ink (Close to My Heart), Ribbon (Ashley E.)

Makes a Great Hostess Gift!

2008-01-26T16:17:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile huh' folks. Holidays were crazy here and my blog was way to far down my things to do list! That doesn't mean that me being crafty was! LOL Here are a hew things that I've been working on over the past few months!
This makes a great hostess gift. All I did was took an empty baby cereal can, washed it, covered it and filled it with a bunch of small goodies. Then I made a coordinating card to acompany it.

Close up of card (3x3)

Products used are all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted.
Distressed Barn Red paper from Harvest Level 2 paper pack. Leaves are from Nature's Vein stamp set. Quote and leaves on wrap are from Summer's Wave Goodbye stamp set. Colonial White and Garden Green cardstock. Chocolate, Autumn Terracotta, Honey, Garden Green, and Vineyard Berry ink. Thank You sentiment from From Me to You stamp set. Pewter Bigger Brad. Ribbon (Bobbin Ribbon) Eyelet (Making Memories)

Thank You From Me to You!

2007-10-21T17:20:00.000-04:00

This card was made using all Close to My Heart products. It features the September From Me to You card kit stamp set. The background paper is from the Everlasting Level 2 paper pack. Cardstock colors are Garden Green, Bamboo, and Ponderosa Pine. I used a water brush and CTMH's watercolor pencils to color the flower.

Beach Bum!

2007-09-03T15:07:00.001-04:00

I had a lot of fun creating these beach pages. The shaker box was a little bit of a challenge as it was the first time I've ever made one. These pages will be created at one of my upcoming workshops. All products used are Close to My Heart. The diecuts were created using Quickutz.

Here are a few close ups...

The shaker box...

Just For You...

2007-09-03T15:00:00.001-04:00

All products used are Close to My Heart. Caprice Level 2 paper pack, Chocolate, Colonial White and Bamboo Cardstock, From Me to You stamp set, Pewter brads.

Thinking of You...

2007-09-03T14:55:00.000-04:00

All products used are Close to My Heart. Autumn/Winter 2007 Booking Set, Everlasting Level 2 Paper Pack, Bamboo & Ponderosa Pine Cardstock. Pewter Photo Hanger and Brad, Cranberry Ribbon.

Create a Custom Title in Microsoft Word

2007-08-26T14:11:00.000-04:00

For this layout I designed a custom title just by layering text boxes in Microsoft Word. Here are some basic instructions to guide you through...

1. Set your page set up to landscape and I prefer 1/2 in margins. If you are using a custom paper size, set your
paper size also.
2. Find your text box tool and create a text box.
3. Type the word of your choice in the text box (ex. - daughter, mother, family)
4. Right click inside of your text box, click on font to change the font and size of the text.
5. Edit your text box. Double click on the edge of it, the Format Text Box should appear. Change the color to
'No Fill' and change the line to 'No Line' and click OK
6. Copy and paste it about 10 times, then move them around and place them within a 2 inch area at the top of
the page. However wide you want your finished border to be.
7. Pick any text box and change the font and size of the text again (when you are finished you want them to be
all different sizesand a variety of different fonts)
8. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until the center is completely blacked out
9. Make one last text box with your word of choice in it but for this one the font color should be white.
10. Center and Size the text box to fit in the blacked out area.
11. Print it out. If you want to print it on vellum like I did, you have to set your the print properties to a
transparency film setting. Be sure to allow for extra dry time before you touch your vellum or you can heat
set it with a heat gun.

All Boy! ~ Create your own design elements

2007-08-26T13:58:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favorite pages. So simple but there's just something about it.

You can design custom embellishments just by thinking outside the box a little. Here I gave regular old twill ribbon a little extra 'WOW' just by adding eyelets to it equally spaced to make it stand off of the page. Make your patterned paper do all the work for you. Take several pieces of coordinating paper in different widths to add extra interest and color to the page.

Products used: ~Pattern Paper(Chatter Box), Cardstock (The Paper Company), Star (Coluzzle), Chipboard (unknown), Eyelets (Making Memories), Ribbon (Bobbin Ribbon), Metal Letters (unknown), Computer Font (CAC Pinafore), Corner Punch (EK Success), Ink (Close to My Heart Chocolate, Autumn Terracotta)

Wild Adventure!

2007-08-26T12:14:00.000-04:00

These are the pages that I have created for my September workshop. Click Here for details. Everything is Close to My Heart Products.

First Layout

Second Layout

Close Ups!

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

For Me

2007-08-22T14:52:00.000-04:00

I'm doing this for me to share with you. I really enjoy scrapbooking and I thought this would be a neat way to share my creations with the world. So stay tuned for my latest creations.