Blinging in the New Year!

Hi everybody!  What???  2013 is almost here!  Where did the time go?  Seems just like yesterday we were all talking about whether or not ringing in the new millenium would end the world ... and now it's 13 years later and we're still around - such that it is sometimes!

Every year at Times Square they bring in the new year with the drop of a beautiful ball created by Waterford crystal.  Well, mine isn't even really a new year's celebration ball, but it does have a bit of glitter and glam and sparkle.  Our challenge this week over at The Outlawz for the Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge is to create a project with silver, gold, or sparkle.  Well, I opted for all three, since I couldn't decide on just one!

I used a styrofoam ball (this one is about 6 inches in diameter - pretty big), glittered it in different colored sections, added lots of beads and pins, and added paper butterflies in coordinating colors that I punched out using two of my Martha Stewart punches.

You could make these in any style or color or size - with different colors it would make a fabulous Christmas ornament.  Mine is sort of an homage to a gorgeous Christmas ornament that I have had about 25 years that was falling apart.  In fact, I recycled some of the smaller beads and pins and sequins from that ornament to make this one.

Now that I've finished it, not sure what I'm going to do with it.  I hung it on one of the stocking hooks on the mantel to get this photo, but I'll have to find it a more permanent home.  It will probably find a place of honor in my crafting room, if I can ever get that place cleaned up and organized.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I pray that the New Year brings you abundant love and prosperity and showers of blessings!

Where's the Snow People?

Hi there!  Glad you stopped by!  The weather is fairly warm here where I live in Virginia - the low temperature last night was in the 50s.  I am not a huge fan of cold weather, but I do love a nice snow every now and then, which we don't get very often here on the coast.  Maybe we will get one or two opportunities this year to go out and make a little family of snow people!

Our challenge this week over at The Outlawz Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge is to make a project that has at least one snowperson.  A good and useful project for this time of year if you make it a Christmas card as well.

My project uses a felt snowman I found at Michael's this week.  We recently got a new Michael's store that's only 4 miles from my house - love it!!!  These snowman came in a big of about 20 for $1.99 - can't beat that!  I tend toward the vintage or traditional style most of the time, so when I was looking for some papers to use with my snowman, I went a little vintage and inked up the edges a bit to give it a little extra vintage style.  Love the glittery snowflakes and letter stickers too - everything needs a little glitter!

Thanks again for stopping by!  Big hugs!

Birds

Hi there and welcome!  This week is for the birds!  Our Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge over at The Outlawz is to make a project that uses a bird or birds.  I made a card with some Ippity by Unity stamps, some pretty papers, and a lovely soft ribbon and pin.  Nothing fancy, but I like how it turned out - soft and romantic.

I'm posting this early because Elaine needed to post the challenge early - she's not located here in the U.S. like me, so it's much later in her day than it is here.  We are fortunate at The Outlawz to have so many international friends - the internet really makes the world a lot smaller!

I hope that you had a lovely and blessed Thanksgiving if you are here in the U.S. or somewhere else that celebrates (when I lived in Germany for several years, most of my German friends celebrated Thanksgiving regularly because they had picked up the custom from all the Americans living there). 

I wish you a blessed Christmas season filled with joy and wonder at the gift of Christ!  Thanks for stopping by!

Thankful!

Well, it's that time of year that causes those of us in the United States in particular to reflect on all that which we have to be thankful for.  I can say that I am truly overflowing with blessings.  I may not be rich in the monetary sense, but I am indeed rich in love and family and friends!  God has been and continues to be overflowing with grace, love, and support, and for that I am eternally grateful!  I am also thankful for my two children, of who I am so proud - those two are amazing young people!  I am thankful that I have a nice home and material things, but when you consider that it can all be washed away by a storm in an instant, it helps you realize what is really important in life!  I am thankful that I have been spared such tragedy, and my heart and prayers go out for those who are suffering at this time of year!

Our Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge this week over at The Outlawz is to be Thankful - create a project that expresses your thankfulness, and let us know what it is you are thankful for.  I had so many beautiful projects in my head that I wanted to create, but just couldn't find the time to get to them, so I opted for a card this week to share with everybody.  This card uses a digi from A Day for Daisies that I colored with my Prismacolor pencils.  I love the effect of the glitter on the tape strips - even prettier in person!

 Thank you for stopping by to visit this week!  I am truly thankful for all my dear online crafty friends, and I send you love and hugs!

Ornaments or Gift Tags

Hi, and thanks for stopping by to visit!  My challenge this week for The Outlawz Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge was to make a gift project.  I found a tutorial online for salt dough ornaments/gift tags that have designs stamped into them, so decided to give it a try.

The recipe calls for:
2 cups of flour
1 cup of salt
1 cup of water

Mix everything together well, roll out to 1/4 inch thick.  Ink a stamp of  your choice and press it into the dough (not too hard though), then use a cookie cutter to cut out the design in the shape of your choice.

Then bake in a 200 degree oven for 6 hours (it helps to have an oven that has a timer on it!).

May I say that's all easier said than done!  It took me a little practice and reworking the dough so that after I cut out the design the dough would lift up easily and the shape wouldn't get warped.  It also took a little trial and error to get the ink colors right and the pressure on the stamps just right. 

Overall, I think these 4 turned out really nice - I think they are prettier in person because you can get the full effect of the background done in diamond and stardust stickles that really didn't show up in the photos.

It was getting dark and I took them outside to photograph by hanging them on one of my rosebushes.  The wind was blowing like crazy and I had a challenge getting them not to sway and twist in the wind, but hopefully you enjoy these photographs and give this technique a try.

After the stamped shapes baked and cooled, I lightly sanded the edges (a rough nail file like used for acrylic nails works great for this).  Then I added stickles and some gems for a little extra oomph.

Thanks for stopping by to visit!  Much love and hugs to you!

Use What You Don't

Hi there and welcome!  I had a bright idea this week to make 3 cards using the same paper and basic sketch design,  but with different embellishments and things.  Plus, I had to incorporate some things into each card that I have in my stash but have either never used or haven't used in a long time.

This week's Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge over at The Outlawz is to "Use What You Don't", so with making 3 different projects, I got to use lots of what I don't!

This first photo shows all 3 cards together, being inspected by Baby.  She doesn't hang around a lot while I'm crafting - she leaves that to the other two cats, Boo Kitty and KitKat - but for some reason she always wants to come inspect the finished product.  I guess she's the Quality Control Cat - I should change her name to QC!

I used a single sheet of paper from Basic Grey's new Paper Cottage line, and the label stickers on the flowery card and the frog card are new.  Everything else I have had for at least one year, some for many years, except for the pink round lace that I got about 5 months ago at a scrapbook store in the Baltimore area.

Now for some individual photos that show more details.

This first card, the one with the bird on it (Baby's favorite), uses some Tim Holtz stamps that I have had for years (and this is the first time I used them).  It also has some gold stickles on the flowers that I have had for probably 5 years that has never been used.  The label banner is made using an Ippity stamp that I have had for several years, but this one I actually use quite often, as well as the letter stickers that I use a lot.

This second card with the flowers uses two different laces, lots of flowers and gems, and some florist leaves that I have had for ages, as well as the "just because" stamp that I have had for a long time.

This cute frog and the background crown stamp were both given to me as a gift several years ago, but this is the first time I have used them.  I colored the frog with Copics and put some Stickles on his crown.  I have had the pink lace and the gems for ages.

I hope you've enjoyed my foray into "what's old is new again" - I know I had a great time pulling out stuff and playing with it.  Frankly, I would never need another new thing ever again except maybe for some cardstock if I just used the stuff that I don't!

Don't forget to leave Baby some leave - I know she'll appreciate it!  Thanks for stopping by!  Big hugs!

Embossing We Will Go!

Hi there and Happy Saturday (or whatever day you are reading this on)!  I hope life is being very kind and generous to you!

This week's Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge over at The Outlawz is to emboss the background for a project - you can use dry or wet embossing.

I chose to dry emboss using an embossing folder I got several years ago and have never used until this project.  It's a nostalgic Christmas scene, almost like the old Currier & Ives prints (hopefully you're not too young to know what that is).  When I was young I used to look through the Sears and JCPenney catalogs and dream of someday having a set of Currier & Ives dinnerware for the Holidays.  I haven't thought of that in years!  Oh well, maybe something I need to check the antique shops for.

I added a tag that I backed with some black cardstock (I think every card needs a tough of black), added a snowflake with a felt flower on top, some baker's twine and a pretty buttons.  The color of the cardstock is almost a distressed color, and I sanded lightly across the embossed parts to highlight them a bit more, than around the very edges.  I put some pretty paper behind it, which is just peeking around the edges.  It was actually very pretty without the snowflake/flower combo, but it's just not me to go too CAS. 

Okay, now on to my children.  As I have mentioned, my son is a freshman at Virginia Tech where he is a member of the Corps of Cadets.  Michelle (my daughter) and I went down to visit him this past weekend and attend the football game.  The cadets all wear their dress uniforms to the games, and WOW!!!, what a sight that is!  I just can't describe the emotions I felt seeing my baby all dressed up like this the first time - it was a sight to behold for sure!  This is him and Michelle:

Yes, I am a proud mom!  Thanks for stopping by!  Big hugs!

Welcome!

Welcome!  That's our theme this week over at The Outlawz Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge.  In honor of the beginning of Autumn here in the United States, my personal favorite season, we are welcoming things.  You can welcome fall along with me, or you can welcome a new baby, a new neighbor, or whatever strikes your fancy.

I decided to make a wall hanging for my front entryway/foyer.  I used a 12 x 12 blank canvas and a sheet of Webster's Pages new fall line to make the base for the project.  Then I made the "Welcome" banner using a die set that I bought several years ago from Pink Cat Studios, which I attached with some baker's twine and cute skeleton brads.  Then I added some additional lettering and stickers that I've managed to stash away over the years.  Very simple, very quick, but I think it's going to be a big hit with the family and visitors.

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you join us in our challenge over at The Outlawz!  I am getting ready to head out the door for a 4 hour drive to Virginia Tech to visit my freshman son and see the football game tomorrow.  I haven't seen him in a few weeks, and originally wasn't going to visit until next month, but just needed to go see my baby boy!  I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to share when I get back!

Love and hugs to you!

Okay, it's Ms. Procrastinator here - again - procrastinating as usual.  This week's Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge over at The Outlawz is to make a project that deals with "time flies" - there is a lovely Latin phrase for that, but of course I can't remember it right now. 

I made a scrapbook page about my son who just started his freshman year in college at Virginia Tech.  This is a photo of him in kindergarten and one taken on the day he checked into Virginia Tech.  He is in the Corps of Cadets there, which is similar to being at one of the U.S. military academies, but it is incorporated into a civilian university.  Actually, Virginia Tech was all military until the early 60s, when they started having "regular" students.

And then I have this funny photo to share with you, also of my son and his fellow cadets.  This past Saturday (the day I was originally supposed to post this), all 400+ new cadets traveled to the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia for a tour.  The memorial is privately funded, and the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets is the largest sponsor of the memorial.  These kids wake up early every morning, have physical training, go to classes all day, have 4 mandatory hours of study each evening, and get to bed at 11 pm.  They are TIRED, as evidenced by this photo of one of the busloads on the trip back:

That's the top of Chris's head closest to the camera.  He is surviving and doing well at VT, and says he is enjoying himself.  His goal is to become a U.S. Army officer (like I was), so add him to your prayer lists please - these kids need all the help they can get.

Thank you for stopping by!  Love and hugs!

Traveling along ...

Happy Saturday!  And for those who are getting a long weekend, YAH!!!  I surely needed one myself, as I have spent the last two weekends traveling back and forth to Virginia Tech (a 4+ hour drive one way) getting my son settled into his freshman year and the Corps of Cadets there.  I needed a weekend to rest up and hopefully get a few tasks done around the house.

And speaking of traveling, our Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge over at The Outlawz this week is a travel theme.  Travel for me is usually related to business, and while fun, sometimes there aren't a lot of fabulous memories involved.  But a couple (actually 4) Christmases ago, the kids and I spent a week at Disney World.  But being the procrastinator that I am, I am WAYYYYY behind on getting things scrapped.  In fact, I rarely do any scrapbook pages anymore - I've get to get on top of that problem!

This is a layout of my beautiful daughter, Mommy's Princess!  I love all the pretty colors and flowers and bling too!  I have several 12x12 shadow box frames that I got at Target, and I put scrapbook pages in them to display around the house.  The pages look really nice and I get a lot of compliments on them, and they are always great conversation starters.  This one is going into one of the frames today!

Thanks for stopping by to visit!  Big hugs!

Spread Your Wings and Fly!

It's that time of year everybody!  Time for all the little kiddies, and the big kiddies too, to head out into the world of the classroom and spread their wings.  This week's Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge over at The Outlawz is "Spread Your Wings and Fly" - make a project that reflects your interpretation of that theme.

My son Chris, who is the youngest of my two children, was delivered to Virginia Tech last Saturday to start his New Cadet Week in the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets.  A lot of people wonder what that is - it's basically like being at West Point or the Navy Academy, but doing it at a regular university.  New Cadet Week is a nice way of saying "Hell Week".  But I am just so proud of him - he's a tall, handsome, smart, athletic young man who is going to become a wonderful leader.  Tomorrow (Saturday, because I am writing this on Friday night) is a big military parade on campus to mark the end of New Cadet Week, so I am up and out early in the morning to go spend the weekend with him before he starts classes on Monday.  He is definitely spreading his wings and flying, and I know he will soar high, fast, and far!  Here are a couple of pictures that the photographers caught of him this week (they have professional photographers that follow them around all week documenting their activities).

This first one is on the obstacle course:

This one is watching a demonstration of something - he's the tall handsome one peeking from behind the guy on the left.

This is him in the dining facility - Virginia Tech's dining facilities are ranked #2 in the country - I'm sure everybody there gets the "freshman 15"!

Okay, now on to some crafty inspiration.  I have 3 different cards to share this week that include winged things:

Thanks for stopping by to visit.   Please keep Chris and me both in your prayers as he adapts to college and the Corps of Cadets, and I adapt to having my baby 4 hours away at college!  Hugs to you!

Staying Cool

Hi everybody!  I've been remiss the last couple of weeks with my postings.  But this week I'm doing this one ahead of time and scheduling it to post at midnight on Friday night - yah me!

Has it been hot where you are?  I guess if you're in South Africa, not so much - they actually got some snow this week!  But here in the States it's been crazy hot in most areas this summer.  We have had our share of extremely hot weather this summer here in southeastern Virginia, but thankfully not as bad as a lot of other areas.

Our challenge this week at The Outlawz Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge is to create a project that reflects how you stay cool during the hot summer.  I guess I'm not planning to go dive into a bird bath anytime soon, but I just thought this digi, by A Day for Daisies, evokes cool and shady respite for the feathered friends.

Just a few more weeks and it will be my favorite time of year - fall!  But in the meantime, I will enjoy what's left of this beautiful summer, even if it is hot!

Love and hugs to you!  Thanks for stopping by!

Ack! Late posting!

Oh, if my life were only to slow down a bit - just enough so I can stop and smell the roses occasionally and also get my blog posts done on time!  I know you all know what I mean!

The Outlawz Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge for this week is Christmas in July.  I was actually wondering where the Christmas in July tradition came from, so I looked it up on the internet - there really doesn't seem to be a single clear answer, but a lot of interesting ideas as to its origins.  Anyway, if you're like me, you need to start early on cards, decorations, and gifts for Christmas.  So what better way than to get started 5 months early?

I made a banner - I've done several similar ones over the years, and I used some of the leftover banner pieces to make a card.

Thanks for stopping by to visit!  Lots of hugs to you!

Blog Hop Winner(s)

Hi everybody!  Sorry I'm a little slow getting this posted, but I was away with my son for his college orientation this week.  He's attending Virginia Tech this fall, which is in a hilly part of the state, and I was so tired from all that walking around campus for two straight days.  Whew!  I am so out of shape!  But we had a nice time, and I am so excited to see him get out there and spread his wings!

We had so many entries for our blog hop to celebrate The Outlawz 2000 Member Party recently!  Wow!  It was a bit of a daunting task to figure out the winner.  I wrote down all the names of those who commented on the blog hop post, and also wrote down all those who joined as new members.  When I counted them all up, we had 180 "entries" for the prize.  Then I used random.org to pick a number from 1 to 180, and the winner was 125, which coincided with Shalana!  We already announced Shalana as the winner over on The Outlawz, but of course I wanted to make the announcement here as well.

Since we had so many entries, I wanted to give out a couple of small prize packages myself.  One will go to Shalana, in addition to the digis she won, so I need you to message me your mailing address over on The Outlawz.

The next two were also selected using random.org:
Patti J
V (I think this is for "Veronica")

If you three ladies can please message me your mailing address over on The Outlawz, I will get your prize in the mail to you.  I think you will really like what I pick out for you!

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to participate in the blog hop, and I really appreciate all your kind words and comments, and a special thanks to those who decided to follow my blog.  Many big hugs to each of you, and I hope you will visit again!

Loving Nature!

My very favorite thing!  Nature!  This week's Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge over at The Outlawz is to make a project that focuses on nature, with no people.  Well, that's easy for me, because I really don't like people images on my cards - I prefer birds, animals, and flowers. 

I decided on this beautiful hummingbird from A Day for Daisies and tried to do a little rainbow-ish coloring with my Copics, then put it on a background from Webster's Pages, along with some old flowers from my stash and a gorgeous strip of gold lace that I got from somewhere that I can't remember.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you find time to put a little nature in your day!  Big hugs!

It's In the Bag

Who doesn't love a nice gift bag? I think gift bags are one of the best inventions ever. But they can be terribly expensive if you guy the pretty, pre-decorated ones. Why not make your own? Our challenge this week over at The Outlawz for the Saturday Paper a la Mode group is to make a birthday gift bag.

I used a little bag that I got when I purchased something in a store, and repurposed it to a cute little birthday bag. It had a design on the front and back, so I cut out large rectangles of the green paper to cover up the designs. then I added some trims and gems and a cute little birthday card that I made using a digi from A day for Daisies. Voila - now I've got a sweet little bag.

I wasn't thinking of my daughter at the time, but her birthday is this week. She will be a whopping 27 years old! Where did the time go??? She is afraid of clowns, so I made her this cute one with red hair (she says she wants a red-headed baby someday) and lots of yellow (her favorite color). She's already seen it and thinks it is awesomely cute, so one small step toward breaking her clown phobia.



Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you get inspired to make a gift bag of your own. Stop by the challenge and look at all the other inspiration!

Big hugs to you!

2000 Member Party - Let's Go To the Hop!

Wow! Hey everybody! Thanks to you, we have reached 2000 members over at The Outlawz! So welcome to the party! If you aren't already a member of The Outlawz, just hop on over there and join up - it's easy, and we're just a bunch of fun folks who happen to be paper crafters, so come on over and hang out with us! We have members from all around the world. Someone even counted up all the countries recently, and it was a LOT! So our THEME for the 2000 Member Party is "Where In the World". This week I am representing the Design Team for the Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenges. Our goal each week is to 1) have fun and 2) make projects of all types and try to bring different ideas and techniques to the table and 3) have fun! (I think there's another theme going on here) We have lots of prizes to share this week. Each of the blogs in the hop has a prize to offer. The prize from our group is 5 Digi Images from Sandi's Samples! Sandi is a queen of talent, and if you haven't seen her wonderful work, you can check it out over at her blog:

 

 On behalf of Rona, Sharon, Elaine, Karen, Jenny, and myself, we welcome you to our tutorial. So, what goodies do we have to share today? Well, our challenge is to MAKE A PROJECT THAT REFLECTS THE COLORS OF YOUR COUNTRY, or even maybe where you would like to live someday, or your favorite country to visit if you are a globetrotter! Rona put together a fabulous project and tutorial to share with you today, and this one is a doozie!!!

 

Tutorial for a Loopy Flower by Rona Mallard
Items needed: Twine or String; 12 straight pins; cork or cardboard; scissors; needle

 First you will need to make your loom. I used a thick cork board cut to a 2 1/4 circle. You can also use cardboard (or two pieces of chipboard glued together) as long as you can stick the pins in the edges. You will stick your 12 pins in at equal distances around the circle. I placed a red pin (which is my starting place across from black) then matching colors opposite each other all the way around. It does not have to be perfect as long as you get all 12 pins in.

 
 Next, Take your twine and leaving a 2 inch tail; wrap around the pins from top to bottom (this is why I placed the colored pins opposite each other it helps remember where you are) My first wrap is always around the red with the tail hanging by the black. Go around the loom twice (if you are using a single string of twinery twine you may want to go around 3 times).

 

 Once you are finished wrapping, cut your twine with 12 – 14 inches out and thread through your needle.

 

 You will then “backstitch” around the circle. I always start at the red pin going under all of the twine wrapped around that pin. From then on you will go under two of the sets of twine (two pins). This will make a loop over each of the “petals”. I like to squish those stitches down to the center of the circle as close as you can for a nice loopy petaled flower. I go around the circle twice because it ends up with a nice braided look when you flip it over.

 

 After you have gone around twice you should be back at the red pin and have a tail left to tie to the tail you had in the beginning (by the black pin). Tie a knot to secure. Then you will begin pulling out your pins to release each petal. I pull it out then replace it right back in the same place so it will be ready for your next flower. Go all the way around to release the entire flower and then flip it over. Your loopy flower is finished!!

 

 I hope you have lots of fun with these. I certainly have!!! I have made several for wreaths and cards. I have even seen these on banners 

 

 Woo hoo! Look at THAT beautiful creation! Rona certainly outdid herself on this tutorial and that gorgeous wreath! Rona says she was inspired by a Pinterest project from Meridian Road. Thanks so much for stopping by and joining us on the 2000 Member Party and Blog Hop! If you started at the beginning and made it all the way to me, I should be the last one on your blog trip. If you finished up here, you can jump back over to The Outlawz and click on the 2000 Member Party tab at the top of the main page. If you still haven't visited everybody yet, here is the list and the links: 

Blog Hop Order

 The Outlawz Host: Colleen Holmes
 CAS Host: Pryn Garritan
 Greetings Host: Tina Gilliland
 Color Host: Teresa Arsenault
 Sketch Host: Cindy Potentier
 Twisted Thursdays Host: Patricia St. Martin
 Copic/Promarkers Host: Darlene Lyons
 Paper Ala Mode: Theresa Lee (you are here)

 Don't forget to do a few things:
1. Leave a comment here on this blog.
2. Head back over to The Outlawz and click on the 2000 Member Party tab at the top of the Main Page. Click on the Tutorial Blog Hop thread and follow the instructions there And if you make a project, please post it in the Inlinkz.
3. Join in playing some of our games and challenges throughout the week.
4. Have fun!

 Big hugs to you all, and thanks again for hopping along!

The Proud Mom!

No time for scrappiness this week - been preparing for this big day! My "baby", Chris, graduated from high school today with honors. He's heading off to Virginia Tech in less than two months, and I am so excited for him. The world is his oyster! A lot of my paper crafting friends have followed Chris' progression over the years, and have always been so supportive of both Chris and my daughter Michelle, who is now a doctor, just finishing her first year of residency. Eighteen years ago I fell in love with this little baby, and now here he is all of a sudden a man. Just to say I am proud of him doesn't even begin to describe the feelings I have for this handsome, smart, sweet, lovable guy! This is a picture of Chris and me following the graduation ceremony: I'll be back next week with a new creation, but this little (big) guy is by far my great creation ever! Thanks for stopping by! Big hugs to you!

Anything but a card!

Happy Saturday! It sure is a lot more peaceful around here that it was this time last week. Lots to be thankful for in life! This week our Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge at The Outlawz is to make anything but a card. A few years ago, I NEVER made cards - for some reason I found it quite intimidating. I spent all of my creativity making mini albums and scrapbook pages. Now, I make cards most all of the time, and occasionally I venture to something else, like a banner. So what to do? What to do? I decided to make one of these cute little corner bookmarks. I learned how to make these a couple of years ago, and I think they are just darling, and make a great little extra to a book you might give someone as a gift. I used some darling papers and embellishments from Basic Grey, with a few other things thrown in for good measure like the little Tiny Type sticker alphabets from Cosmo Cricket - I own those in every color they have! I also did a little edge stitching. As an avid reader, and with two sisters and a daughter who read as much or more than I do, the book as a gift was always a great option. Now, we have almost exclusively gone to e-readers - Michelle and I both have iPads, and both of my sisters have Kindle Fires. I have to say that I never thought I would enjoy using an e-reader, but now I can't imagine it otherwise. I still like my magazines and catalogs in paper format, but love having my books in electronic format. But I do sometimes miss the smell and feel of a good book! Hope you like my bookmark - I made it for my sister Liz, who we call the Crazy Cat Lady. Thanks for stopping by, and big hugs to you!

A Tornado and a Recipe??? Eek!

Happy Saturday everybody! I'm happy to report that we made is just fine through a tornado yesterday evening - that was quite an experience. Had (thankfully) about 5 minutes advance warning. Michelle and Chris hid in the closet, Boo Kitty hid under the bed, and I gave a running commentary of what was going on to try to keep the kids from being too frightened. Thankfully we only sustained minor damage because we don't have any big trees in our yard, but a lot of my neighbors weren't so fortunate. Been cleaning up debris all morning, so am taking a break to post this. Here's a shot of some of the aftermath - that's my house in the background:

Our Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge over at The Outlawz this week is a recipe from Rona - use 1 image, 2 words, 3 patterned papers, 4 embellishments, and 5 colors. A couple of weekends ago I was fortunate enough to take a couple of Suzanne Dean's Copic classes, so I have been trying to put them to good use. This cute little clown is from A Day for Daisies, and I just couldn't resist getting all bright and cheery with it!

I'm heading back out to clean up some more stuff - say a few prayers for all of us, and especially prayers of thanksgiving that nobody was hurt! Love and hugs to you all!

I Love ... ???

The Outlawz Sunday CAS challenge this week is to make a CAS-style card focusing on something you love. I am most definitely CAS-challenged - I think everything has to be multiple layers and the more ribbons and embellies, the better, so trying to "do" CAS is always a stretch for me. Oozak is also having a challenge at their blog that is to make a project with Spring colors. I recently took some Copics classes with Suzanne Dean and have been trying to practice my new-found skills, so decided to give this a try with a digi that has BUNNIES on it! Yes, the thing that I love is BUNNIES! Right now I have a yard full of them because I need to mow the green stuff in my yard - I can't say "grass", because it's mostly clover right now, and the bunnies are having a feast out there! They are so sweet crouching around in the green stuff nibbling away. The bunny digi is from A Day for Daisies - love, love, love Tammy's artistry. That pretty pastel background paper is from Webster's Pages. And all the other stuff is from my stash (I think that's just a few buttons and a piece of Queen & Company baker's twine). I also love to have a bit of black on any project I make - colors just seem to "pop" and be much brighter with a bit of black trimming up things, so I put a peekaboo piece of black cardstock behind the digi. So here's my CAS/love card that I made - probably a few more embellishments that a "true" CAS-er would have, but I minimized the best I could.

Thanks for stopping by! Big hugs to you!

Remembering ...

Hi everybody! It's a long weekend for many this week, and I hope that you are able to enjoy it with loved ones! I do not have any special plans - a bit of housework, buying groceries, finish cutting the grass (because I ran out of gas yesterday in the middle - I thought I had enough and was too lazy to run down to the gas station), and maybe do a bit of cooking on the grill. Whatever you decide to do, stay safe and have lots of fun! This week at The Outlawz, our Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge is about REMEMBERING. It's Memorial Day weekend here in the States, so we thought that MEMORIES were in order for this week. The project does not have to be for someone as a memorial, but rather anybody or anything you want to remember. It could be a friend that you have been out of touch with, someone special who is no longer with us, or like me, a furry family member. My first project is about my Grandma's house. That's the place that fills my heart with the happiest memories of my growing up years. My Grandma actually moved to a new house when I was very small, but I love this old picture and the sense of long ago memories that it evokes.

This next project is a little mini album that I made with photos of some of my furry family members. That's Boo Kitty on the front - she's the queen of the house. I made this using some K&Co tags and added photos and embellishments.

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and stop by The Outlawz and play along with us - everybody is welcome! Love and hugs to you!

Just a Pretty Little Box

Hi everybody! This week's challenge over at The Outlawz Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge is to decorate a small box. After searching around the house for something to use, I realized that I keep several used business card boxes at my office, and I use them for holding all the various business cards I collect from vendors and clients and all the assorted people I meet as a businesswoman. I keep them tucked away in a drawer, because quite frankly they are ugly. So I decided I could pretty one of them up a bit and actually leave it out on my desk to hold some of the business cards that a refer to most often. So I added some pretty paper and a gorgeous trim and a few flowers and pearls, and this is what I came up with:

In a business world of wood, glass, and contemporary shapes, this ought to add a bit of zing to the place where I spend most of my time! Thanks so much for stopping by to visit - big hugs!

To "Die" For

This week's challenge over at The Outlawz for our Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge is to make a project using at least one die. My project is a card for a baby girl - my friend Christina's baby - and I used two dies. The larger shape is made using my Top Note die from Stampin' Up, and the smaller sentiment frame is a die from Papertrey Ink with matching stamps. To make the large shape, I cut out several layers using the Top Note die, cut off edges adding about 1/2 inch each time, then punch the edges using my various edge punches. Then I adhere the layers all together and use it as the base. In this case I added a pretty ribbon and a beaded stickpin that I made too.

I've got another friend with another little girl due next month, so now I have to get my creative juices together for that one too! Thanks for stopping by to visit - love and hugs!

Happy!

Happy, happy, happy! What do I have to be happy about you ask? Well, nothing in particular, but everything in general. Spring makes me happy - I can always feel my mood improve as the weather gets warmer and the flowers start to bloom and the bunnies come out of hiding and run around my yard eating clover. So in keeping with the Happy theme, our challenge this week at The Outlawz Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge is to make a project using the word "Happy" somewhere in or on the project. I decided to FINISH getting happy with this cute little chicks digi from A Day for Daisies. I started on this card a few weeks ago, but finally finished it this week. No, they don't call me a procrastinator for nothing! But looking on the bright side, I'm one card ahead already for next year! I colored it with Copics and added some glitter, flowers, a button, and some twine. I always like to use the mini alphabets for my titles and things, so I used two different styles here.

Thanks for stopping by, and hope you have lots of things to make you happy this week! Big hugs!