Good Golly, Miss Molly!

Name Plate with Cocktail Alphabet

2012-02-11T21:15:00.001-06:00

I needed a nameplate for a couple crafting events I'm attending soon, so I put this together. I just got the "Cocktail Alphabet" CTMH stamp set, and I love it. I added the three dots of white in the capital letters with a white colored pencil.

Ribbon Organization

2012-02-11T16:11:00.000-06:00

Here's a peek into my personal ribbon organization system.

My ribbon is in the top right bin on the above bookcase.

The picture below is what it looks like inside the bin:

If you feel like this system would work for you, feel free to copy it.

Best Spam Comment Ever!

2012-02-10T19:16:00.000-06:00

I get spam comments on my blog from time to time, either trying to entice me to click on their link, give money to an African prince, or give me some kind of virus. I usually delete them without a second look, but this one was awesome.

"obviously like your web site but you need to test the spelling on several of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very bothersome to inform the truth however I'll definitely come back again."

I find it very bothersome to inform the truth. I love it!

Junk Album Workshop

2012-02-04T12:20:00.000-06:00

My first Junk Album Workshop was last night, and my three new crafting friends did great! As my guinea pigs for the workshop, they were great sports about everything that wasn't planned perfectly.

Here's my table full of supplies and tools all ready to go. It stayed neat through about the first page.

And here's some snapshots of the ladies working.

All their albums turned out awesome!

50th Birthday Card

2012-02-04T11:55:00.001-06:00

I made this man's 50th birthday card for a travel-themed birthday celebration. I used vintage travel stamps and papers and added edge distressing and dark embellishments. The stamps are colored with watercolor pencils.

Here's the inside.

Happy Groundhog Day!

2012-02-02T15:51:00.000-06:00

I didn't make any of these treats, but my office pals were so creative for our Groundhog Treat Day, I had to post some pictures. Two law clerks and a judge contributed these tasty Groundhog desserts.

New Spring/Summer CTMH Idea Book!

2012-02-01T15:35:00.000-06:00

The new CTMH Idea Book is here! Click HERE to browse the new catalog.

Click HERE to place an order.

Wedding Card

2012-01-29T09:10:00.001-06:00

I got the idea for the bride and groom hearts from a similar card on Pinterest. The hearts are punched from paper that was embossed on my Cuttlebug. The sentiment is from a CTMH retired stamp set, "Soul Mates."

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Beach Themed Paper Bag Junk Album

2012-01-25T19:19:00.001-06:00

A re-work of my paper bag junk album, but this time in a weathered beach vacation theme:

Anyone who signs up for my Paper Bag Junk Album Workshop can choose to make either the original, vintage vacation version or this beach vacation version.

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New Workshop: Paper Bag Junk Album

2012-01-23T18:11:00.001-06:00

Finally, I'm ready to do another workshop. I love junk albums, and this one came together really quickly. It has lots of spaces for pictures, journaling, and lots of pull-out pages and tags. It has a rustic look and is themed for vacation pictures.

And, it's made from brown paper bags!

Here's a peak inside and some journaling space, a mat for a pic, a little journaling tag, and a pull-out page.

Here's the side view. There's a lot going on in there.

* * *

Want to come over to my studio and make one? Give me a call to set up a workshop or contact me through email, text, Facebook, or Google+.

* * *

Workshop Fee: $15 (Includes Everything!)

Date & Time: Whenever You Want!!! Contact me and I'll work with your schedule.

Class Size: I'm going require a minimum of 2 people and a maximum of 4 for this project.

Difficulty Level: Easy! Junks albums are imperfect, so anyone can do it, and I'm limiting the class size so I'll be available to help out a lot.

Theme: If you'd rather, we can make your album more of an outdoor, woodsy theme, or even a brighter colored beach theme (with white lunch sacks). If you want to do an alternate themed album, let me know in advance, so I can prepare.

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What Happens in Vegas...gets scrapbooked

2012-01-22T13:21:00.002-06:00

(several posts today--make sure you scroll down)

Our trip to Las Vegas was pretty tame...a few fruity drinks, a little gambling, and our husbands posing by a busty figurehead at Margaritaville. I used CTMH's new "Cruisin" papers for this what-happens-in-Vegas-stays-in-Vegas layout.

"What happens in" was punched with CTMH's "Vintage Type" stamps and punched out with 1/2" punch, and "Vegas" was stamped with the "Delightful" alphabet set. "Celebrate Good Times" is fromt he CTMH "Good Times" set. The drinks are all from SU. The old lady playing the slots is from Art Impressions.

"Party On" is another stamp from the "Good Times" set, and "A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words" is from CTMH's "Take a Picture" set. The row of bling on both pages is from Recollections.

The Fabulous Flamingo Hotel

2012-01-22T11:51:00.001-06:00

More scrapping from Vegas. I used CTMH's Roxy papers for the zebra-like palm fronds with Tulip and Vanilla Cream CS.

I used a lot of little pieces I picked up at the hotel, including a coaster and a room key. The large bling is one of CTMH's new Sparkles Fourishes. "Flamingo" was stamped with CTMH's "Posterboard Alphabet." I stamped right on some-less-than perfect photos from around the hotel that weren't good enough to make the cut for the LO. It makes a great title.

This side is pretty simple. I alternated offsetting the photos on the vanilla cream CS to give it more interest. The long line of bling is from Recollections. The black scalloped edges on both pages are from Bazzill.

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Jess's 22nd Bday - Mixing Paper Packs

2012-01-22T11:02:00.003-06:00

I made this busy LO with pics from Jess's 22nd Bday. I used three different CTMH paper packs (Cherry-O, Sweetheart, and Daydream) to make this playful, girlie look.

White mats around the pages and photos tie it all together. The banner was made with CTMH's "Pennant Alphabet" stamps, and "November 10" was made with the the "Vintage Type" stamps, which punch out perfectly with a 1/2" circle punch. The numbers "22" on the flower are CTMH Dimensional Elements Numbers. I used flowers, pearls, rhinestones, pins, and tabs for embellishments. EK Success edge punches were used for the scalloped and birthday candle borders.

Mostly more of the same materials. "Celebrate" is from a set of CTMH Irresistibles, covered in coordinating ink. The two hearts toward the bottom center were punched, then I crinkled the all the edges up. The long strip of pearl embellishments is from Recollections.

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Las Vegas Layout with Cruisin Papers

2012-01-15T11:52:00.000-06:00

This is my first LO from our Las Vegas trip. I used CTMH's "Cruisin'" papers with coordinating foil stickers and bottle caps. The LO is based on a LO example in the "Cruisin" Workshop on the Go. All are available in the new CTMH Spring/Summer Idea Book, which is available to customers February 1.

I used CTMH's "Token" alphabet stamps for "Vegas" and punched them out with a 1-inch punch. The bling flourish is one of CTMH's new Sparkles Flourishes. (Vegas deserves lots of bling, right?) All the embellishments are CTMH, except for the dice, which is a cut-out, stamped image I got from Jess for Christmas from Studio G.

Everything on this page is CTMH except, again, the dice, and the rows of bling under the date. The "Wecome to Coolsville" foil sticker reminds me of the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. The date is stamped with CTMH's "Save the Date" stamp set.

New Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book

2012-01-15T07:42:00.000-06:00

Close to My Heart's Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book is available Feb. 1.

Contact me for your free copy!

Christmas 2011 Layout

2012-01-15T07:30:00.001-06:00

My favorite pictures from this year's Christmas. I used a bunch of snapshots on the right, and stacked them to balance out the single photo on the left. I used mostly CTMH's Elemental and Typeset papers, and a variety of stamps. Nothing is over-the-top Christmas, but by this time every year, I'm pretty much over red and green.

This picture of Jess & Neal was my favorite, so I highlighted it on a page by itself. All the pictures and papers are lightly distressed with brown ink.

This collage is definitely top heavy, but I it balances with the first page. I wouldn't use this layout for a single-page layout. Also, carrying the stamped leaf/flower image over the two pages brings them together.

Lots of Cards

2012-01-10T17:50:00.000-06:00

I went crafting at a friend's this weekend and got a lot of cards done:

These were probably my favorite cards of the day. I like the whimsical feel. I used paper from CTMH's retired "Daydream" paper and an old wooden stamp from American Art Stamp.

Not sure of the papers on these--just some from my large stash. The drink images on these two are from SU.

Both these cards were made from CTMH's "Fanfare" paper pack. The butterflies are from CTMH's "Pair-a-Phrase" stamp set, and the ballplayer is from the "All Star" stamp set.

Some more with the "Daydream" papers. The owl stamp is from Hero Arts and the leggy bird is from Whipper Snapper Designs.

Lastly, I made a couple birthday cards for crossword puzzle fans. Not sure of the papers, but the cup is from CTMH's "Wonderland" workshop on the go stamp set.

Wedding Date Photo

2012-01-08T18:02:00.000-06:00

Another idea from Pinterest. I took these pictures and framed them for Jess & Neal for Christmas. 6-2-12 is their wedding date. The numbers are from a highway sign, my house number, and my license plate.

Mojo Monday Challenge 222 with Cherry-O

2012-01-02T17:15:00.001-06:00

I played along with the Mojo Monday sketch challenge today. Here's the sketch I started with:

All the materials on my card are from CTMH, except for the mini blue flowers, which are from Recollections. The paper is from the CTMH paper pack "Cherry-O" and the stamps are "Zoology" (ticket) and "Card Chatter - Birthday" (sentiment).

The inside of the card reads: "I'm just extending the Celebration!"

Another Antique Postcard Card

2012-01-02T11:24:00.000-06:00

This card was made mostly with papers from CTMH's "You and Me" kit. The barn scene is punched from an antique postcard. The layout was inspired by a card by Amy Sheffer I saw on Pinterest.

Birthday Card from Antique Postcards

2012-01-01T18:27:00.000-06:00

The butterflies and "Happy Birthday" were stamped, and the ribbon and flowers are new, but the postcard, roses, and lilly of the valley are all from antique postcards.

7 Gypsies Receipt Holder

2011-12-30T22:48:00.000-06:00

I've had this receipt holder from 7 Gypsies sitting around with my other "to-do" projects for over a year, maybe two. I finally got it out tonight. I printed the family pictures with low color making them look older although all were taken this fall and winter. I used a yellow patterned paper from CTMH's "Elemental" paper pack for the background.

I added misc. bits and pieces I had in my studio. The dominoes, eight and six, represent the year we got married (1986).

There's a ticket stub from Tom and my annual trip to Alpine Valley to see Jimmy Buffett, along with some mini flip flops.

"Family" is made from miniature Scrabble letters.

We're all Cubs fans, so I added a ticket stub from a trip to Wrigley Field. I made the fleur de lis with a small wooden disc, CTMH inks, and a CTMH stamp to represent Mardi Gras and our time living in Louisiana.

I had some extra chipboard letters I used to include each one of our initials. Jess & Neal both attend the University of Iowa and we've all always been Hawkeye fans, so I added the tiger hawk. Once I got started on this project, it came together in less than three hours.

Show Devils Freak Show Layout

2011-12-24T15:29:00.000-06:00

Doing a little scrapbooking this Christmas Eve Day. And what says Christmas more than a Freak Show Layout?

These pictures are from October when me, my friend, and two nieces went to see my first cousin's daughter in her traveling side show act, Show Devils. Her name is Serana Rose, and she and her boyfriend, "The Enigma" have traveled around the U.S. and Canada and several other countries swallowing swords, eating glass, and performing nasty tricks with chainsaws. Not my usual kind of entertainment, or my usual crowd, but she's family, and I thought it would be fun to see when she was performing in central Iowa.

That's me in the bottom right touching the implanted horn on The Enigma, who is covered in puzzle piece tattoos. Even the whites of his eyes are tattooed blue. His ears are notched to look like puzzles. Eeek. I made the curtain-like feature across the top of both pages by cutting circles then cutting them in half. Then I added the large CTMH peal opaques to look like tie-backs.

All of the papers are older stuff from my massive stash. Most everything and the "Freak Show" title are from an old K&Company Scrap Pad To Go. I tried to use papers and colors that had an older Vaudeville / side show feel to them. All the pictures, papers, and insets are edged in black ink. I used a white colored pencil on black cs for my journaling.

30 Sucks!

2011-12-23T07:00:00.002-06:00

I saw this idea on Pinterest and made it for my niece who turns 30 on Christmas Day. The glass base is the same $1.97 one from Wal-Mart that I used for my Bath Sponge Sundaes. Inside is a styrofoam ball that I tinted a little with pink ink and shimmer gel. I stuck 30 suckers in the ball, added the sign and ribbon, and that's it.

And, here's my 30-yr-old niece, Katie, when we surprised her at work with her sucker bouquet.

Collage Cubes Puzzle

2011-12-18T17:23:00.002-06:00

I made this gift with CTMH's new "Collage Cubes." This picture is my sister, her two grandsons, and my niece cooking hot dogs at my mom's farm.

It comes with nine chipboard cubes and the base, all white.

It measures 6" x 6" so you can cut a picture to that size, then cut it in two-inch squares to fit the cubes perfectly. I inked the edges of the cubes first for a little distress between all the sides.

This side is pretty plain, just six different colors of cardstock with numbers embossed in silver. I used a two-inch square punch for the cs that had a fancy edge.

This side is a current picture of the two brothers who received this collage cube as a gift. The one on the left, Luke, is two, and Jack, on the right, is five.

I just stamped on this side and added some glitter gel highlights. Here's a tip: Watch out where your words break on the cubes. I inadvertently ended up with the center cube here saying "F-U" when held alone. LOL.

For this side, I only used a 5"x7" photo and trimmed it to 4"x6", so I added the embossed star design to complete the side. (Sorry this picture is out of focus--it's not really.)

For the final side I just stamped some animals I thought little boys would like and added some Stickles around the edge. I covered the base with cs and glued around a ribbon and bow. The gift was a hit, and it was really simple and fast to put together.

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-17T20:58:00.000-06:00

Jess solved the problem of what to do with a broken gingerbread man:

Bath Sponge Sundaes

2011-12-10T17:37:00.000-06:00

Besides the gift below, I gave my lunch group friends all one of these "sundaes" at our little gift exchange. It's yet another idea I found on Pinterest. If you know me and I haven't harassed you yet into joining Pinterest, I just don't know what else I can say to you to get you to check it out.

Anyway, what's in these sundaes?

The sundae dish is from Wal-Mart ($1.97). I put a pair of pink gloves in the bottom, but pink soaps would be cute too. A white net bath sponge sits on top of the gloves, and looks a lot like whipped cream. I stuck a pink emery board in one side to look like a spoon handle and a candy cane on the opposite side to mimic a striped straw. A tiny red ornament is the cherry on top. Lastly, just add a ribbon or bow of your choice. Easy!!!

Lunch Group Gifts

2011-12-10T17:27:00.000-06:00

Today was my Lunch Group Christmas exchange. Three fellow court employees and I used to gather for lunch almost every day. We don't anymore, and we're not all still even in the same building, but we still get together from time to time, and for years we have gathered for a Christmas gift exchange. Because there are four of us, we're not young, we're not thin, and we probably looked this excited to go on our lunch breaks, I thought this stamp from Art Impressions Girlfriend line would make a great tag. I colored it with copics. The giftbags--lunch sacks, of course. And it's hard to read, but the license plates are LNCHGRP.

Snow Flurries Thank You Card

2011-12-04T19:50:00.000-06:00

Another easel card for an extra special holiday thank you. I used one of my favorite winter stamps, CTMH's Snow Flurries and also a sentiment from the Thank You stamp set. I used some adhesive sparkles for the centers of some of the snowflakes and added CTMH's glitter gel to some of the smaller ones. The icycles are a MS punch.

Winter Thank You Card with Wonderland

2011-11-29T12:44:00.000-06:00

I used the Wonderland Workshop on the Go papers and stampset Winter for this easel card. It's a winter no-necessarily-Christmas themed card. The "thank you" sentiment is from CTMH's "Thank You" stamp set. The icycles are a MS punch, and I added CTMH Glitz glitter gel to them and the inside snowflake for a wintery look.

This picture, albeit a weird photo colorwise, shows the easel.

Congratulations Card with You and Me

2011-11-29T12:29:00.000-06:00

This card was made for a December graduation. I used stamps and papers from the You and Me set and an ordinary tag from the office supply store. It's based losely on the card "Button Flowers Birthday" by Kim Hughes published in the book "The Best of Stamp It! Cards" from Papercrafts.

Find Your Style Congratulations Card

2011-11-27T21:03:00.001-06:00

I used CTMH's Find Your Style Stamp set for the butterflies, and You and Me for the words. The background is CTMH smoothie cs embossed on my Cuttlebug. Ink colors are CTMH's vineyard berry & black.

Owl Lunch Sack Gift Bag

2011-11-06T15:42:00.000-06:00

Another project I saw on Pinterest. This owl is SO simple. Cut the top of an ordinary lunch sack, add a piece of B&T paper, and cutout eyes, beak, and feet. I used punches for the eyes and feet. A little ribbon to hold the fold over at the top, and that's it!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

2011-11-01T18:00:00.002-05:00

Some retro, nontraditional Christmas colors give this card a "cute" look to go with the fawn. The deer and sentiment are from the CTMH stamp set Bundled Buddies. The background snowflake is from Snow Flurries. CS colors are white, black, blush, and pear. The white snowflake is a punch.

Jingle Christmas Cards

2011-11-01T06:00:00.002-05:00

Both of these cards were made with CTMH's Jingle papers. The mittens in the first card are from the Winterland Workshop on the Go stamp set, and the sentiment is from Snow Flurries. I love the look of the baker's twine with this paper.

More Christmas Cards!

2011-10-31T18:00:00.001-05:00

This card has kind of a modern look and lots of sparkle. The tree is from CTMH's Tannenbaum stamp set, and the sentiment is from the Snow Flurries set. The CS colors are CTMH's Pear, Sky, and Dutch Blue.

Kind of a different color combo for Christmas, this card almost looks masculine. The snowflakes are all punches, and there's a little pearl embellishment in each snowflake's center. The sentiment is from the Tannenbaum stamp set.

Believe Santa Card

2011-10-31T11:59:00.001-05:00

The cute papers used here are from CTMH's Believe set, and the Santa is from the Believe Workshop on the Go exclusive stamp set. I colored the Santa with copics outlined him in a very light grey to give him a little depth. The Santa inset is raised with dimensional adhesive under the green mat. The only embellishments are the button and baker's twine.

Special Olympics Scarf

2011-10-31T09:07:00.000-05:00

I made this scarf to donate to Special Olympics Iowa. My crochet skills are limited, but I can make easy projects including scarves. The Special Olympics organizations around the country accept scarves and gift them to the Special Olympics participants. Red Heart yarn is a sponsor. To find out more specifics about the colors to use and where to donate a scarf for your state, click HERE

Bundled Buddies Christmas Card

2011-10-31T07:46:00.000-05:00

There is a lot of "bling" on this card that doesn't show up well in the picture. The animals are all from the CTMH stamp set Bundled Buddies, and each of their scarves were colored with Spica glitter pens. The trees (also from the Bundled Buddies set as is the sentiment) and the snow are highlighted with glitter gel. The background paper is from the CTMH paper set Elemental.

Some Random Cards

2011-10-17T21:36:00.000-05:00

I made some random birthday, thank you, baby, and Christmas cards tonight. here are a few of them. They were all made with with miscellaneous supplies, and many were from "scrap candy" I had stamped, colored, and cut out that was sitting in a pile all ready to fasten to a card.

Cardstock Christmas Tags

2011-10-16T08:58:00.000-05:00

Three simple Christmas tags that came together very quickly. All are composed of cs only, no B&T. The tree and snowman have baker's twine, and the snowman has a couple black CTMH opaques for eyes.

Orange Slice Pumpkins

2011-10-15T20:35:00.000-05:00

Another Pinterest find, I made these orange slice pumpkins in just a few minutes.

Take about nine orange slices and wrap them in plastic wrap. Twist the wrap closed at the top and secure with floral tape. Add a paper leaf, and it's done.

I bought the orange slices at Walgreens for 99 cents per bag and made two pumpkins from each bag.

Easy Paper Christmas Ornaments

2011-10-15T14:44:00.000-05:00

These cute ornaments are super easy. Start by cutting or punching out 12 circles. I used a scalloped circle punch because it is the biggest circular punch I own. Two-sided B&T paper works best. I used a retired Christmas paper from the Close to My Heart "Jingle" collection.

Next, ink all the edges, front and back. I used CTMH's Tulip ink.

Fold all the pieces in half. My scallops didn't always match up perfectly, and it doesn't really matter. I tried to keep the stripe somewhat straight.

After you have this little pile of cute taco shells, pile them all up in one stack. Fold them so like sides are together. In my case the tone-on-tone red sides faced each other and the brighter stripes faced each other.

Next, flatten out the stack and put a couple staples right in the crease to hold the circles together.

On the right edge of any circle in your stack, adhere a glue dot about one third of the way from the bottom. Fold over the flap on the left.

On the flap you just turned, adhere a glue dot about one third of the way from the top of the circle, again on the right edge. Fold over the flap again from the left.

Keep doing this, alternating the glue dot from the bottom third to the top third, all through the stack of circles until you come around to the first flaps you glued.

This is what you'll have:

All that's left to do is embellish. I used a CTMH Just Bloom, some ribbon, and a brad on this ornament, all held to the top of the globe with a large glue dot. These are super simple!

I found this pattern on Pinterest. It was pinned from the site http://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/. Pintrest is my latest online obsession. There are endless crafting, cooking, and decorating ideas. If you're not a member yet, SIGN UP. If you want me to invite you, email me, and I'll send you the link. If you are a member, do me a favor and pin some of my blog posts!

Crochet "Paper Chain" Scarf

2011-10-15T12:46:00.000-05:00

This scarf looks like the paper chains I made as a kid at Christmastime. I saw a scarf like this hanging in Michael's and knew even I, a novice at crochet, could make it.

I used cheap yarn in white and bright red. Each ring is 40 stitches around and consists of one row of chains and then four rows of double crochet. Easy! You just have to remember to join your chain into the last chain before starting on the first row of double crochet.

You're Sweet Thank You Card with Elemental

2011-10-03T16:38:00.000-05:00

This card came together in minutes. The papers are from CTMH's Elemental papers, and the apples and sentiment are from the stamp set "So Sweet." The apples were inked with cranberry ink, then "kissed" with a newsprint stamp to make them a little more old fashioned looking.

The apples are raised with dimensional adhesive. Everything is distressed with cocoa ink.

Nick's Smiling Face

2011-10-02T09:29:00.002-05:00

Nick was in an exceptionally smiley mood one day when he got home from school, so I snapped several pictures of him smiling--not always an easy task. His blue and brown shirt coordinated well with CTMH's new Wonderland paper pack, and this is the layout I created. The layout itself is a combination from a bunch of layouts I saw while looking through examples.

While trying to find just the right title for the layout, I came across James Taylor's song "Your Smiling Face," which was perfect. I printed the lyrics and cut them out with a crazy font--"Christy" I think.

The tag is a punch, and I added the mini binder clip. "Nick" is made with CTMH's stamp set Typeface, and the flourishes are second generation stamped from the Pair-a-Phrase set. The date stamp is a retired set called Today's Date. The arrow embellishment points to the 26th, the actual day I took the picture.

"2011" and "love" are from a set of CTMH rub-ons. I added random CTMH mocha opaques.

There is a partial circle of mocha opaques on the first page and another one bridging the two pages. I made these by using round dimensional elements as a guide. (see photo above)

Blog Award

2011-10-01T09:18:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Lisa at her blog, Lisa's Loft of Joy, gave me a "Liebster Blog" award:

First and foremost, THANK YOU, Lisa! Please visit her blog HERE

Admittedly, I usually ignore blog awards, and (get ready this is going to offend many of you) find them too often resembling a chain letter, because to post that you received the award, you are supposed to bestow the award on someone else, therefore pressuring them into passing the award on to someone else, etc. etc.

Those of you who know me, probably aren't surprised at my attitude: When I receive those emails where you are supposed to forward it on to 5, 10, or 20 people for good luck, wealth, or to avoid death, I've been known to send it right back to the friend who sent it to me 20 times to annoy them. Rude? Probably, but it stops the forwards. :)

Back to the Liebster Blog Award: I decided to accept this award (FYI: I'm told by Lisa that Liebster means "beloved" or "favorite" in German). Because it's directed at "smaller" blogs, those with 200 or less followers, and it helps them get more hits and then potentially more followers, it seems like not only a good deal for me, but for five more small blogs, so here it goes:

Here are the Liebster Blog Award Rules (not in my words):

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.

2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.

5. And most of all - have fun!

Now, my own rule: If any of the people I pass the award on to have any reservations about participating, PLEASE don't worry about it. Just know that I do enjoy your blog.

My picks (in no particular order):

Erica's blog: From the Heart

Janelle's blog: Jak's Scraps

Leslie's blog: Panda Scrapper

Beth's blog: Paper by the Lake

Janelle's blog: Stamp and the City

Although the Lieber rules state the receipients must have less than 200 followers, I limited mine to less than 100 followers, so please help out these blogs and give them a look!

Playing with Paper: Buy this Book!

2011-09-17T12:04:00.000-05:00

This post is a review, testimonial, plug, or whatever you want to call it for the book Playing with Paper by Angelia Wigginton. I've been mentioning it in a lot of my posts, so I thought I'd devote a post to the book.

Here's the book itself. I wonder if I'm violating copyright laws by posting pics of it. If there are any complaints, I'll delete this post.

And here are some of the layouts I've done that were inspired by the book, along with the picture from the book that inspired each. There are many, many I've yet to try. Links included to my original layout posts, in case you want more info and missed the earlier posts.

Chicago! For original layout post, just scroll down--I posted it earlier today.

My Orange Beach LO. I loved the big picture with the "sloppy" sewing sewing and buttons on the edge. The original post HERE.

My New Orleans/Pat O'Briens Hurricane LO. I thought the swirls created a party-like feeling. Original post HERE.

LO from Gul Islands National Seashore. I liked the block of photos and the cluster of embellishments on the black cs. Original post HERE.

The book's layout was the view of NYC, but it worked great for my views from Niagara Falls. My daughter, Jessy, was even pictured with the big binoculars, which triggered the idea to do the LO. Original post HERE.

Nick's first day of school. I liked all the curved lines and the black flourishes. Original post HERE.

This is the last of the layouts inspired by this book SO FAR, but I'm sure I'll be doing more.

Chicago Layout with Elemental and Typeset

2011-09-17T11:18:00.000-05:00

This layout was so fun to make and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. (The sound you hear is me blowing my own horn.). The idea was copied straight from my current favorite creative inspirational book, Playing with Paper by Angelia Wigginton. (I plan to do a post later today dedicated to how great this book is.)

I needed lots of patterns of paper that would compliment each other. Elemental and Typeset, both new from Close to My Heart, work GREAT together. Elemental papers are shown in the pic toward the left, and Typeset are in the upper center.

What really makes this layout representative of Chicago, is the shape of this building. It definitely looks like the Sears Tower with its two big antenna things. Technically, it's called the Willis Tower now (I had to look that up, because I couldn't remember the new name and probably never will). And, technically, it's the John Hancock Building that is shaped like the building in my layout with the sloping sides, but oh well, it looks like Chicago.

I made this Sears/Willis/John Hancock Tower/Building by adhering many 3-inch wide pieces of different patterned papers together. Once I had a long enough piece of paper, I used my paper trimmer to make the base of the building three inches wide and tapered the sides to two inches wide at the top.

Also, the background paper I used, the Lagoon grid from the Typeset paper pack, really helped me keep my buildings and title straight on the page. I didn't plan it that way, but it really made it easier. I cut it 11x11, so there would be 1/2 inch of the black base showing around the edge.

When I finished the skyline, I almost didn't want to add anything else. I was so proud of myself, and I was afraid I'd ruin it somehow. I think I'm going to try some more skylines. Maybe a French Quarter feel for New Orleans, and a Des Moines one with the State Capitol Dome (yes, I'm in Iowa). San Francisco, New York, and St. Louis would be fun cities to try too. If I make this a two-page layout, I think I would try to come up with some kind of Wrigleyville theme, with maybe the Ferris wheel from Navy Pier.

All the elements of the page are sparingly edged with CTMH Cranberry ink. I think it helps tie all the competing patterns together.

The bottom border is from this punch for EK Success. It's CTMH Pacifica cs, which is in some of the Elemental cs and also brings out the Cubbie blue in my daughter's sweatshirt. It represents Lake Michigan, or the Chicago River, or both. The "2008" shown in this picture is from the retired CTMH stamp set "Save the Date." I used Colonial White ink on black cs.

I didn't want a huge title drawing too much attention to itself, so I used CTMH's "Vintage Type" stamp set for the letters and punched them out with a 1/2-inch punch (edged in Cranberry ink.)

The completed page again. The black mat is flat on the page, and then the white mat with photo (all edged in Cranberry ink) are raised with dimensional adhesive.

Retro-Look Coffee Cup Card

2011-09-16T13:58:00.000-05:00

A coffee or tea lover's card for sure. The colors here remind me of a 1950s kitchen. All materials are from Close to My Heart. The B&T paper is from the Elemental paper pack. The cup is from the new stamp set, Winter, and the sentiment is from the new set, Remarkable Wreath.

The center square is raised with dimensional adhesive. The pink mat, which is CTMH's Cotton Candy cs, was embossed with my Cuttlebug. Thanks for looking!

Sparkling Margarita Card

2011-09-16T11:21:00.001-05:00

This card is FULL of sparkle. The large circular image is from Impression Obsession. The sentiment is from Unity Stamp Co, and the little lime slice is from CTMH. The lime is glittered with Stickles, as are the moon and stars, palm leaves and lights, the waves, and the margarita and its glass, lime, and umbrella. The margarita didn't photograph well. It's actually sparkly green with clear sparkly salt around the rim. The background paper, from The Paper Studio, even has glitter in the swirls. I colored all the images with copics before glitzing them up with Stickles.

Gulf Islands Nat'l Seashore Layout with Elemental

2011-09-15T12:06:00.001-05:00

The LAST layout for my Feb. 2011 vacation. I used CTMH's new Elemental B&T papers on a black background. Not the typical color scheme for a beach layout, but it was a cloudy day, and I think the muted colors work well with the Fort Pickens ruins.

This page started from an idea from Angelia Wigginton's book "Playing with Paper." I drew, then cut out the flower and leaves, then stamped over the flower with some words. "Explore" is made with the new Vintage Type stamp set. I even got out the messy colonial white pigment ink to make the flourish from the You and Me stamp set.

The second page is the layout turned a quarter turn (kind of). I used more Vintage Type letters--definitely one of my new favorites for titles. The label is from the You and Me set again. I also added some misc. metal embellishments and bling.

Gnome Card

2011-09-14T20:04:00.000-05:00

This card was stamped with CTMH's Gnome Garden stamp set. The sentiment is from Remarkable Wreath. The background is the yellow pattern from CTMH's new paper pack Elemental. The gnome, sentiment, and butterfly are attached with dimensional adhesive, and there is a little silver glitter gel on the grass and the butterfly. The images are all colored with copics.

Sonoma Halloween Card

2011-09-13T21:48:00.000-05:00

The CTMH Sonoma papers work well for a vintage Halloween card. I added black, colonial white, and sunset cs. The stamps are all CTMH: Moments in Time (calendar), October Word Puzzle ("October"), Thriller (flourish over October), and Beware (Bat stamp). The card design is based on Jean Franks Beck's design called "Little Spook" in the book, The Best of Stamp It Cards from Leisure Arts (Papercrafts Magazine). Beck used different papers and stamps, but the basic design is hers.

Wonderland Mitten Card

2011-09-11T17:55:00.000-05:00

I just got the new Wonderland kit, and couldn't wait to use it, and I came up with this mitten card. I drew a pattern for the mitten, then cut it out with the stripe B&T paper from Wonderland, then cut out the cuff of the mitten with the stripes going the other way. I blanket stitched along the bottom of the cuff with lavendar ribbon. "You warm my heart" is from the WOTG Wonderland stamp set. The snowflake in the righthand corner and the greenery in the lower left are punches. I added some misc.-sized bling to the grennery for a little sparkle.

Another 365 Days of Photos

2011-09-09T18:45:00.000-05:00

For those of you who enjoyed stalking me throughout 2010, I've started another 365-day photo project as of today. Find it HERE. Stop by and comment on the random photos of my life!

Typeset Birthday Card

2011-08-24T19:28:00.000-05:00

I really like the new Typeset paper from CTMH. This time I used it for an old fashioned looking birthday card. I paired it with the All You Need Is Love stamp set. The outside sentiment is a little hard to read in the picture. It says, "Just living is not enough..."

The inside says, "one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. --Hans Christian Andersen"

"Happy Birthday" is from the stamp set Card Chatter-Birthday. The stamps were all colored with copic markers, but everything else is CTMH.

First Day of School with Typeset

2011-08-23T22:16:00.000-05:00

I finally had time to create something with some of my products from the new CTMH catalog. These papers are from the new paperpack, Typeset. I think they work great for a first day of school layout. The layout is based, loosely, on a layout in the book Playing with Paper by Angelia Wigginton titled "Circular Logic." This started out as a mirror image layout, but the two pages took on their own personalities.

Nick's page has lots of buttons and uses the new CTMH stamp set Vintage Type for both the typewriter-look letters and the little stamped tag under the buttons at the bottom center. "Day" is made from CTMH's Posterboard alphabet, stamped on another Typeset B&T paper. The banner to the left, SEP (for Southeast Polk--Nick's high school), is made with Pennant alphabet. All the embellishments are CTMH.

Jess's page uses some stamps from CTMH's Friendship, Delightful Things, and Delightful Alphabet stamps. "School" is stamped with Token alphabet, then punched, and attached with dimensional tape. Both layouts have touches of gold/yellow accents because Nick's high school and Jess's college (Univ. of Iowa) both use the colors black and gold.

Jack's Birthday Card

2011-08-21T10:36:00.000-05:00

I made this birthday card for my mom to give to her great grandson, Jack. The colors are brighter in person than in the picture. I used CTMH key lime and pacifica. All the stamps are CTMH. The little ball player was colored with copics.

American Falls Layout

2011-08-06T12:40:00.000-05:00

This layout is made from all CTMH products. The paper is all from the Lucky paper pack, except for a few pieces of lined paper from Notebook. All the metal embellishments are CTMH.

This side of the layout was based on a layout from the book Playing with Paper by Angelia Wigginton. "American Falls" was stamped with Friendship Alphabet; "Enjoy the" is from the Themepark stamp set; and "View" is from Token Alphabet. The picture of Jess & "View" are raised.

The flourish in the upper right is cut out from a sheet of Lucky B&T. "Unforgettable Memory" is from the Picture Perfect stamp set.

Princess Birthday Card

2011-08-06T08:51:00.000-05:00

Fit for a princess of any age, this birthday card is made up of a castle stamp from Whipper Snapper Designs, stamped directly on the white card, and a stamp from CTMH from the Piece of Cake stamp set (one of my favs). The cupcakes stamp is raised with a little bow added. Everything is colored with copics.

Follow Your Dreams Card

2011-08-06T08:28:00.000-05:00

I used Gypsy and Lagoon cs for the two halves of this card. All the stamps (including the random stamping on the Lagoon cs are from CTMH's You and Me stamp set. That's Tim Holtz tissue tape down the middle (love that stuff) and some CTMH grey opaques to the left of the fleur de lis and to the right of "dreams."

It's Here! New Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book

2011-08-02T18:23:00.000-05:00

The new Idea Book is here and includes a new Cricut cartridge and coordinating stamp sets! Contact me for a free copy or click on the link to the right to order products online.

King & Queen of Hearts card / Mojo Monday 201

2011-07-30T17:44:00.000-05:00

I made this engagement/wedding card for the Mojo Monday challenge #201. I've been looking for something to do with some old playing cards, and I thought they fit with this week's sketch. The colors are black, holiday red, and sunny yellow. The B&T paper is from CTMH's fanfare pack. Both the tag and the heart in the circle on the right are raised. I like how it turned out, but if I was redoing it, I'd make sure the king's face was visible. Next time... TFL!

H2H Paper Lantern card

2011-07-30T16:49:00.000-05:00

I made this card for this week's H2H challenge. The paper and color inspiration is from the Wings B&T pack. The stamp set is Paper Lantern. The lantern on the right was stamped in vineyard berry ink, cut out and attached with a pop dot, then embellished with "pearls." TFL!

Wedding Layout/Wall Art

2011-07-30T15:47:00.000-05:00

I helped my niece with this project. It's a layout for a 11 x 14 frame, which she gave as a gift to a couple who are newly married. I think it turned out awesome!

July Stamp of the Month

2011-07-14T21:04:00.001-05:00

Close to My Heart is hosting its annual convention this week in Los Angeles. I wish I was there getting samples of the new products and the sneak peek at the next Idea Book. The new fall/winter Idea Books will be available for customers August 1. Let me know if you would like a free copy. Until then don't forget about July's cute stamp of the month, shown above.

A Little Rant -- Please Read!

2011-07-12T20:28:00.003-05:00

Protesters Pack Hearing To Cut Help For Disabled - Politics News Story - KCCI Des Moines

I attended this rally (click on above link for details) and the legislative rules review committee meeting today as an advocate for my special needs son. Iowa lawmakers made cuts to our budget at the expense of our most vulnerable citizens, the ill and handicapped. I urge you to stop these funding cuts in Iowa, or whatever your home state, and maybe most importantly in the federal government, especially in response to buzz words like "smaller government." The reality is "smaller government" doesn't mean fewer bureaucrats. It means less money for education; fewer programs for the sick, disabled and elderly; public parks and recreation closures; less funding for road maintenance; delays for courts; understaffed law enforcement; and cuts to every other public service we take for granted.

Welcome to Finland Layout

2011-07-10T19:34:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Finland is the name of Jimmy Buffett's 2011 tour, so it makes a great title for my Buffett tailgate layout from Alpine Valley. The layout is based, very loosely, on the Monologue layout from CTMH's Imagine book. I used CTMH's Sweetheart B&T papers and added Dutch Blue and Pear cs.

Almost everything on the layout is CTMH, except for the stamped woman image, which is from Art Impressions.

I paper pieced the dress with some random B&T paper, and colored the rest of the image with copics. Her lei is made by stringing small papercrafting flowers on a piece of string and threading it through and attaching it to the back.

For the title, I used the CTMH stamp set Around the Block for "Welcome to" (barely visible in this pic), Hang Ten for the shark fins, and Bohemian Alphabet for "Finland." I stamped "Finland" in pear ink, filled in the flowered areas with Cotton Candy marker, then cut out the letters.

You're Sweet -- Owl Card

2011-07-10T18:58:00.000-05:00

This card went together pretty quickly. Coloring the stamped images took the greatest amount of time. The background tree as well as the owl & limb insert are from Hero Arts, and the "You're Sweet" sentiment is from CTMH. I paper pieced some of the owl and the flowers on its limb.

Woodburning Oar Project -- Update

2011-07-10T18:16:00.001-05:00

My oar was a success! (HERE is my post about making it, if you don't know what I'm talking about.) Attaching the shotglasses with velco was perfect--much easier to transport, and they're easily cleaned or replaced. Here is the oar in action during our recent Jimmy Buffett concert weekend in Wisconsin.

MoJo Monday 198

2011-07-09T17:41:00.000-05:00

I made this Christmas card using the Mojo Monday 198 sketch challenge. The paper is all CTMH, but the snowman image is from Whipper Snapper Designs, Inc.

I colored the image with copics and added snowflake punches dappled with icicle Stickles. Here's the inspiration sketch from the Mojo Monday blog:

To make the ribbon-like edge of the strips easily and equally, here's my trick. Use a chevron punch (mine hadn't been used in ages), and line of the strip from the back (see pic). It was really easy and will work for varying sizes of strips of paper.

Woodburning Oar Project

2011-06-19T11:28:00.001-05:00

I've seen these drinking games at tailgates in the past, and I wanted to make one for our annual Jimmy Buffett trip to Alpine Valley.

I sanded the oar and then sketched my designs This was my first ever parrot drawing (copied from clip art) but I think it turned out well.

More sketching, also copied from a font and clip art.

This was my first attempt at woodburning, so I bought this cheap frame for practice. I made both projects simultaneously.

Jess took this pic of me trying woodburning for the first time.

This side all burned. It was easy, and I enjoyed it--another new hobby.

Here's the back side. The lettering was hard to burn evenly.

The frame completed.

Another pic of the oar, complete with shot glasses, which are attached with velcro.

And the back of the oar, which shows when you do the shots. The words reference Margaritaville--all of you should know this.

Paper Bag Purse

2011-06-02T10:31:00.001-05:00

These paper bag purses come together really quickly and easily. I'm sure the idea has been around for awhile, but I was inspired by some that I saw at my LSS. They are perfect for a small gift bag or for favors for a wedding or baby shower. I used Close to My Heart's Wings paper pack and Sophia for these two. Here are the easy instructions for the Wings purse:

You'll need:

1 - paper bag (standard lunch size--approx. 5.25" x 10.75")

1 - 5.25" x 5" cs for the front base

1 - 5.25" x 7" cs for back base

2 - 5" x 4.75" B&T paper for front and back (one is wrong in the pic--they should be the same size)

1 - 5" x 1.75" B&T paper for front flap

1 - 3" x 3" cs for front overhang

1 - 2.75" x 2.75" B&T paper for front overhang

ribbon of your choice

crumpled paper flower (for instructions for making this flower, click HERE)

Cut the paper bag 5" from the bottom of the bag.

Score the 5.25" x 7" cs 2" from one end and fold.

Adhere the 5 x 1.75" B&T paper to the end that's folded over. I used gluestick for almost everything.

Thread ribbon through the slits, and tie small knots on each end to secure it.

Adhere the 5" x 4.75" B&T pieces to the front ande back of the purse.

Assemble the front square embellishment, and adhere it to the front flap. I used a strip of two-sided tape to attach the square.

Finished! I added a little extra ribbon to the handle. You can use a tiny glue dot to close the front flap, or a piece of velcro if you want it to open and close easily several times.

Mojo Monday Challenge

2011-05-31T19:49:00.000-05:00

I made this card for this week's Mojo Monday Challenge (193). The papers are from K&Company, and the center image is cut from an antique postcard.

Beach Card / H2H Challenge

2011-05-31T18:05:00.000-05:00

This week's H2H Challenge was a sketch:

I turned the card horizontal and took the word "image" literally for this beach card--the photo is from my 2010 gulf coast vacation. I used papers from CTMH's Magnifique paper pack and stamps from CTMH's Daydream stamp set. The umbrella is paper-pieced and fringed with paper from Magnifique. The top of the umbrella is raised. I used watercolor pencils to color the shovel & pail image and the sun. All the papers are edged in CTMH's Pacifica ink.

Golf Birthday Card

2011-05-31T16:25:00.000-05:00

The B&T papers for this golf-themed birthday card are from Karen Foster Design. The flag is one of the stamps from Unity Stamp Co.'s stamp set Vintage Banners. I used a row of bling for the pole. "Happy Birthday" is from Close to My Heart's "Say It in Style" set.

Happy Anniversary to Me! (and Tom)

2011-05-31T05:43:00.000-05:00

25 years ago today--and they said it wouldn't last....

Orange Beach Layout

2011-05-28T22:17:00.000-05:00

Another layout from my February vacation. This is Orange Beach, Alabama. We've been there before, and I have dozens of pictures of it in another scrapbook, so I just wanted to highlight my favorite photos from this trip. I used paper from CTMH's Fanfare paper pack for the background with white cs for matting the pics and a stripe of outdoor denim cs for the stripe on the right page.

I love this picture, and it's obviously the highlight of the layout. The worn look of the Fanfare B&T paper looks beachy to me. I sewed (by hand) around the pic and added various buttons in blues and whites. It's all very simple, except the sewing is tedious. I got the layout idea from the book Playing with Paper by Angelia Wigginton.

I drug out the CTMH white daisy ink for the title. It's pigment based, so it's a little messy to use, but it always looks great. I think it adds to the weathered, beachy look of the layout. I used CTMH's Delightful Alphabet stamp set. The outdoor denim cs strip is water distressed on its vertical edges.

Big Easy Layout with Wings

2011-05-24T21:02:00.000-05:00

Finally...back to scrapping. I used CTMH B&T papers from the Wings collection for this layout from my recent New Orleans vacation. I wanted to show the dark and ominous feel of the French Quarter, so I used the black cs as a background. The layouts are inspired from the book "Playing with Paper" by Angelia Wigginton.

This page highlights one of my hurricanes from the famous Pat O'Brien's. The straight lines in the background are colored pencil (as well as the white flourishes & "the" before Big Easy.) I stamped "Big Easy" with CTMH's Token Alphabet stamp--one of my new favorites--and punched it out. EASY! The fleur de lis and ticket stamps are from the You & Me stamp set from this month's CTMH special kit. The six large flourishes are freehand cut from various Wings B&T papers.

This page shows a couple French Quarter street scenes and a couple more pics from Pat O'Brien's (the flaming fountain and the tray player from the piano bar). Again, the fleur de lis is from the You & Me stamp set. I also used the Hope for Japan stamp at the top. The white writing and flourishes are all white colored pencil.

I'm still here! / Beer Can Hat

2011-05-22T15:56:00.000-05:00

I thought I should post in case any of my followers thought I left during the rapture. I've been busy making lots and lots of graduation cards, however, I forgot to take pics. I'll try to do better. Yesterday, I made this little gem though, reminiscent of the late 60s early 70s.

I remember these crocheted beer can hats from the 70s used mostly PBR, Hamms, Schlitz & Budweiser, but I chose Jimmy Buffett's LandShark Lager, of course.

Here's my finished product.

It's a little tall because my LandShark was in tall cans, but the pattern it was loosely based on makes more of a bucket hat. It's easy to do. You can find the pattern HERE.

Fins Up in Kansas City

2011-05-01T12:48:00.000-05:00

The crowd at Saturday night's Jimmy Buffett concert during "Fins." I now know I prefer seeing him at outdoor venues, but it was still a GREAT show and a fun weekend trip to Kansas City. Fins Up!

2011-04-24T17:53:00.000-05:00

Jess & Neal asked me to take some possible engagement photos. We're going to take lots over several different weekends in different locations. Here's one of my favorites from yesterday. They climbed into the magnolia tree in our front yard. I like the soft coloring and the gnarled branches with the pink blossoms in the background.

Art Impressions Mother's Day Card

2011-04-23T10:09:00.000-05:00

Third post today, and it's not even 10 a.m.! The bathing beauty on this card is a stamp from Art Impressions, which I colored with my copic sketch markers. The water is made from a CTMH stampset, Adorning Corners.

Piece of Cake Birthday Card

2011-04-23T09:56:00.000-05:00

The main colors are CTMH's blush, juniper, and sky. The cake is from CTMH's Piece of Cake stamp set, and the sentiment is from Fringed Phrases. The background blush cs is stamped tone-on-tone with a stamp from CTMH's Friendship set.

Sensational Season Mother's Day Card

2011-04-23T09:46:00.000-05:00

The Beatrix-Potter-like bunnies on this card are from CTMH's March stamp of the month, Sensational Seasons, which is actually an Easter set, but I thought the mother and baby bunny looked like mother's day too. The B&T paper is from CTMH's Sophia paper pack.

Mother's Day Card / Mojo Monday 187

2011-04-20T16:34:00.000-05:00

I mde this Mother's Day card for the Mojo Monday challenge #187. I used CTMH fanfare B&T paper and cs. The butterfly is from CTMH's stamp set Find Your Style, and the sentiment is from Little Bit of Everything.

Just Because I Like It:

2011-04-18T19:29:00.001-05:00

John Mellencamp's version of the Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk"--maybe my favorite song of all time.

"She packed up her potential . . ." Graduation Card

2011-04-17T19:13:00.001-05:00

I made this card for a friend who needed a graduation card for a woman who is graduating from med school and then heading to Africa. I thought it worked for someone who is traveling and also wants to change the world.

The sentiment reads: "She packed up her potential and all that she had learned, grabbed a cute pair of shoes, and headed out to change a few things."

The luggage is from SU, the graduation cap (Class of stamp set), bottom right flourish (Live Inspired stamp set), and shoe (Find Your Style stamp set) are from CTMH. The upper right flowers are from Tim Holtz. I found the sentiment on line and printed on cs. Colors are CTMH's pansy purple and outdoor denim.

The inside is made with the Express Postage stamp set from CTMH.

Explosion Boxes

2011-04-17T13:38:00.000-05:00

Last weekend three friends from high school and I roadtripped to a girls' getaway weekend in Galena, Illinois. I love this "Girlfriends" stamp and used it to to top off explosion boxes I made for each of us.

The weekend before we went, I made the four explosion boxes, which were the same except the color combos. I added cute stamps and sayings representing a girls' getaway and left spaces blank for pictures.

I took my camera and my mini printer with us to Galena, and in the morning before we drove home I added pictures from the trip and gave one to everyone:

Shrine Circus

2011-03-27T15:09:00.000-05:00

Our neighbors gave us some free tickets to the Shrine Circus, so Tom and I spent a nice afternoon with Nick, Jess, & Neal at the circus.

We wanted a picture with a clown, but they were too creepy to talk to--even though we knew they were Altoona area Shriners. We're just not clown fans.

Jess with some circus snacks:

Nick enjoying the show at his ringside seat.

Hula-hooping unicyclists. I don't believe these were the infamous Ridge Riders though.

Neal & Jess

The trapeze artist lost some of his star quality when immediately after his peformance he donned his Coke bottle glasses and helped tear down the netting. As soon as this job was done, he changed into the same black outfits as the other "roadies" and performed odd jobs around the ring.

Happy Birthday, Tom!

The elephants were our favorite act.

Jess thought she was at an international soccer event.

Happy Mardi Gras!

2011-03-08T13:18:00.000-06:00

Jess & I at a Mardi Gras parade in 1998, during the time we lived in the New Orleans area.

Pool Scene H2H challenge

2011-03-07T20:15:00.001-06:00

This week's H2H challenge was to create a scene using at least three different stamps.

I made this pool scene with Paper Lantern (lanterns); Play Day (boy and sentiment); Adorning Corners (waves); and Surf's Up (surf board). The background is the B-side to one of the Fanfare papers, and the water is Pacifica CS. The yellow CS is Sunny Yellow. The surfboard has clear sparkles along its length, and the flowers and lanterns all have pearl embellishments. I used dimensional adhesive on the little boy. If this looks a little familiar, I made a similar card in July 09, but I think the lanterns, which weren't available then, work great.

Vacation Postcard Layout

2011-03-07T18:07:00.000-06:00

I made this layout for the beginning of my gulf coast vacation scrapbook. The B&T papers are from CTMH's Passages and Vintage Travel paper packs. I included small photos from highlights of our trip and described the photos by location in a postcard. I like the vintage look.

I folded the map papers into thirds to look more like a real map and distressed the folds with ink. I added photo corners to each picture to give it an older look. Both the map papers and cocoa mat on each page were edge distressed with water.

Lots of CTMH stamp sets (current and retired) were used. Here's the list:

Posterboard Alphabet (title--stamped on postage stamped paper from Vintage Travel)

Vintage Postcard (all postcards, vacation definition, Express Post. postmark, East River postmark)

Neighborhood (car)

Postmarked (large postmark under calendar)

Live Inspired ("Explore," "Journey," and "Dream")

Take a Picture (camera & "A Picture if Worth a Thousand Words"

Relax ("Relax" and "Life's a journey, not a destination")

Hang Ten ("Beach")

Legendary Moments ("Carpe Diem" and fleur de lis)

Moments in Time (calendar)

Pensacola Beach Layout (H2H Scrapbook Challenge)

2011-03-06T06:44:00.002-06:00

I tried the H2H scrapbooking challenge for the first time. The layout was simple, but it turned out perfect for the few pictures I had. I used the reverse side of the CTMH Wings paperpack--a totally different look than the front side, for a very "beachy" color palette.

Here's page one (in a horrible photo--sorry for the lighting). The shells, palm tree, and sandcastle are cut from my cricut. I think it's the second time I've used that thing, and the other time was for the shells too. The top paragraph of the journaling tells what we did on our day trip to Pensacola. The second paragraph are Jimmy Buffett lyrics to Frank and Lola. (The song is about Pensacola and we ate at Frank & Lola's restaurant in Buffett's hotel (left pic).)

Here's page 2 up close. I used my favorite alphabet, CTMH's Delightful Alphabet for "Pensacola Beach."

Here is the challenge's sketch of the layout:

Happy Mardi Gras card / H2H challenge

2011-03-05T17:24:00.001-06:00

This week's H2H challenge was to use gypsy, creme brulee & black.

They reminded me of New Orleans and Mardi Gras (which is this coming Tuesday), so I added a little green and came up with this Mardi Gras Card:

I'm not sure exactly what happened with the upload of this picture, but the card is actually square. Also, the gypsy cs looks blue in the photo, but it really is gypsy. The background creme brulee cs is tone-on-tone stamped with small fleur-de-lis images CTMH's Legendary Moments stamp set. The large fleur-de-lis on the bottom left is also from this set. The fence and moon & star (representing the crescent city) are all from CTMH's Fright Night stamp set. (I'm always proud of myself when I find an alternative use for a holiday set--this one was a Halloween stamp set.) The umbrella is from the Springtime stamp set, and I paperpieced the top and added bling, some old sassy strands, and one of the punched out fleur-de-lis from the background edge punches (by EK Success). The small green B&T paper strip at the bottom is from the Lucky paper pack. Here's a look at the inside of the card: I used CTMH's small Friendship alphabet and Be Yourself stamp sets.

TFL! and Laissez les bon temp rouler!

Attention: Email Scammers

2011-03-01T15:56:00.000-06:00

Attention email scammers: Don't waste your time! I've received lots and lots of emails trying to scam me via my CTMH business lately, and I'm not falling for it!

Easter Card from Antique Postcard

2011-02-26T12:46:00.000-06:00

I made this Easter card using two antique postcards (the bunny & the sentiment), paper from Wild Asparagas, Tim Holtz tissue tape, CTMH's Intrinsic Backgrounds stamp, ribbon, paper flowers, crocheted flowers, and mini pearls. TFL!

Mojo Monday 179

2011-02-21T17:10:00.002-06:00

I made this card for the Mojo Monday challenge #179.

I ink distressed everything with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink, and I ran the CS square through my crimper.

*B&T paper: Wild Asparagus
*CS: CTMH
*Bling & brads: CTMH
*Tim Holtz Tissue Tape
*Scalloped circle: Spellbinders
Nestabilities die

*Flower: Tim Holtz Sizzix die, "Tattered Flowers"
*Sentiment: from "Wonderful Friend" stamp set by CTMH
*Newspaper stamp: Stampers Anonymous

National Margarita Day February 22 & H2H Challenge

2011-02-21T15:30:00.001-06:00

This card is perfect for today for two purposes: (1) National Margarita Day, which is tomorrow, February 22; and (2) this week's Heart2Heart Challenge. This week's challenge was "Cold." --what better than an on-the-rocks margarita to represent that?! The photo is one I took on our recent vacation. I was enjoying this margarita in Frank & Lola's restaurant at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Beach Hotel in Pensacola, Florida. I think the colors work great with CTMH's Miracle papers. I stamped right on the photo with an image from the Live Inspired stamp set. The sentiment is from the Daydream stamp set. I edge distressed the sentiment with water, then added some prisma glitter to the edges. I also added just a bit of prisma glitter to the salt around the glass, although it's hard to see in the photo. The bling in the lower right is leftover from a CTMH connections club set.