One last card for 2007 and Happy New Year!

We've got a birthday party at 10:30 in the morning for one of Clark's little buddies. What a good excuse to use my CTMH Nursery Bash set! I started with Di Hickman's December #4 sketch, then colored the giraffe with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. He's on so many pop-dots the scan looks wonky. That strip of paper is Basic Grey Color Me Silly. I thought the card was way too simple, but my husband assured me it is just perfect. (He's a sweet dh most of the time *wink*).

I read Maria's blog yesterday and started making my list of crafty goals for 2008. Many of mine were alot like hers: using blogger's sketches at least weekly, scrapbook one LO a week, etc. But honestly after I made this super simple card tonight, my clean table looks like a bomb went off. Did I tell you I got distracted and started labelling all my Palette Ink Cubes??? Anyway...I narrowed it down and have only ONE crafty goal for 2008. That is to Clean Up In Between Each Project! Now you just have to hold me to it! LOL

More cards to display

Thought I'd share a shot of the door between the kitchen and the dining room. This is where all the handmade Christmas cards are hanging. The one farthest to the left is from Addison's 6-yr old penpal. All the cards are just great. I'm so lucky to have so many talented friends!!

Card Display for Instant Inspiration

I cleared the piles off my scrap table last night. What a shame that all these handmade cards were sitting amongst all the scrap papers and ribbon. I found these tiny clothespins at M's a week or so ago....with the idea in mind to hang the cards up over my desk. I used some thumbtacks to string up some ribbon. I'm so excited to finally be displaying these because they are all so special to me.

Forgot to show you my last-minute gifts

Not sure why they were last-minute. I had them in my head for a long time before I actually got around to making them.

The first is an altered picture frame using this year's Christmas photo. The frame is from M's. Everything else is from the December kit at Scrap Treasures. I think there are still a few kits available if you want to grab one.












The other is last year's idea from Ali Edwards. That's how far behind I get on projects. Just too many fun things to do, and not enough time. I really like how this turned out. It's decorative, but not "clutter-ish". KWIM? I actually didn't have to go out and buy anything for this one. The frames were picked up on clearance at M's several months ago. And what a better way to use all those 2" paper scraps!! Although I'm not sure I'll ever finish using up the BG Blitzen paper. LOL

One last card to share

I went into mass production for this card totally CASE'd from Gabby. When I saw hers, I knew I just had to replicate it! Stamps are Papertrey Ink and CTMH, and I drew the ornament hook with my silver Sharpie.

It's beginning to feel alot like Christmas!!

We took the kids to see Santa last night. I was able to pick up another gift while we were at the mall. I think I only have 3 gifts to buy now and maybe a few more stocking stuffers.


















This afternoon we decorated a gingerbread house.













Although I think Clark did more un-decorating as evidenced by the finger swipes on the roof and the icing on his mouth.

Photo Christmas Card

I wimped out (or wised up --- not sure which) this year and sent most people a photo card from Walmart. But I did make a handful of Christmas cards with a photo of the kids. There just wasn't enough time to make the 60-80 I've done in the past. I think they all should have arrived now so I don't think I'll be spoiling anyone's surprise by posting this. I was determined to use up my obscene stash of Basic Grey Blitzen with various Christmas projects. It's still not complete obliterated, but it has been reduced to a small pile of scraps. And I started with this design from Sweet Miss Daisy. I'm really happy with this card. So much that I might use the same design with a 5x7 photo for a scrapbook page.

Winner of Blog Candy!

Here is what Random.org told me:

Lucky number 7!

The 7th person to comment was Carolkm. Congrats Carol...you win the $15 coupon at the Scrap Treasures store!!

There will be a delay

Sorry for not posting the blog candy winner yet. It has been absolutely nutty the past 24 hours ---- my parents arrived for Christmas, getting more shopping done and prep for the kindergarten party today. We'll pick the winner tonight.

Birthday Blog Candy!!!

A really quick post since I'm at work, but today is my birthday!! Don't even ask how many years....but, yes, I woke up feeling each of those 16,436 days (when you count leap years) in my aching body. But the advil has kicked in now, and I'm looking for an excuse to throw a party! I haven't offered any blog candy lately so why not today???

Up for grabs is a $15 gift certificate to the Scrap Treasures store. Quite honestly, I'm tired of shopping and trying to find the perfect gift. So I'd rather let you pick out what YOU want! (and this way I don't have to force myself to go stand in line at the post office **wink-wink**)! All you need to do is post a comment telling me anything birthday related. Do you have any birthday traditions? A favorite gift you received? Some kind of food you love to have on your birthday? Anything!

Leave your comment before 6PM CST on Wednesday, Dec 19th, and we'll draw a winner shortly thereafter. I'll email the winner a coupon code worth $15 for ANYTHING in the Scrap Treasures store.....I know some of you have your eye on one of those yummy December kits.

Now....to share my tradition. Actually it's my dad's tradition, but I'm so happy he still does this. I've now been out of my parent's house for ummm.....28 years I guess. And every year on my birthday, the phone rings at 5:30AM. You see I was born at 6:30AM on the East Coast. Now I live in the Central Time Zone, but my 83-year-old father always calls me at 6:30 Eastern Time. I think 2005 was the only year he missed. Clark was 10 weeks old at the time, and my mom convinced him not to interrupt my sleep since I probably hadn't had much of it anyway with a newborn. LOL But that is why I never set my alarm clock the night before my birthday.

Angel's Monday Sketch #3

WOW! A whole week without a post. And it's only going to get crazier from the looks of my lists!!

But I loved Angel's idea of "recycling" the circle element. And one of those aforementioned lists is for the 50 cards that are still unmade, so I decided to give her sketch a go. I recycled a card from a friend who occasionally reads my blog. Maybe she'll recognize it and leave a comment!

Mojo Monday #13

Sometimes you push the deadlines far enough, and you're bound not to make it. It's been a busy day here. But we got the trees decorated (one is very tiny) AND did a photo shoot for our annual Christmas card photo. I got some pretty good shots...now it's just a matter of deciding which one to go with.


So I'm a tad late posting this card for Julie's Mojo Monday #13. I needed a card to send to a co-worker who has a brand new baby boy. This sketch was perfect for finally christening with ink my CTMH Nursery Bash set. :)

Down to the deadline for Moralia's Monday sketch!!

I always want to get the sketch challenges done before the next week's is posted. I don't always make it, but that is my goal.

I finished this card yesterday before we headed out to a party for a 6-year old. I thought the Autumn Leaves Astroboy stamps I got from the Scrap Treasures store were perfect for a boy! The space suit is heat embossed with gold EP. The arms, legs, etc are colored with Prismacolor pencils blended with OMS. The paper is from Paper Salon. Thanks for the sketch Carla!!


















Speaking of Scrap Treasures, don't forget our 12 Days of Christmas celebration. Day #2 challenge has been posted, and we're definitely getting in the Christmas spirit. Hope you'll come join us. :)

Altered File Folder - Christmas Planner

I haven't heard from everyone yet, but I hope all three from THIS POST have received their PIF RAKs. Since I saw Taylor's file folder a few months ago, this project has been on my list. This is such a great idea for either an organizational tool or a very cool mini-album.




Altering a file folder is our first project for the Scrap Treasures 12 Days of Christmas Celebration. Upload yours to the Scrap Treasures gallery by December 12 to get your name in the drawing for some Cosmo Cricket Oh Joy chipboard alphabets. Join us each day for a new project to get those creative juices flowing and get those Christmas projects finished!

Di Hickman Nov #3 Sketch

I'm home unexpectedly this afternoon with a child who came home sick early from school. So far no symptoms except a fever and slight headache. It's a rainy day here, and I'm having to be strong to fight the urge to nap. So I thought I'd go ahead and upload a card I made last night for Di Hickman's Nov #3 sketch. Paper is Basic Grey Blitzen. Yes...I know....the BG line from TWO years ago....I'm finally getting around to putting a dent in the stash of it I have. All stamps from Verve Visual.

Now I better go get that fresh cup of coffee before I drift off to napland. :)

Headstart on Christmas Cards

No! Not me!! I've been working on a surprise all weekend for three gals that I owe PIFs of homemade RAKS. They should be going out in the mail in the next couple of days, and I'll be sure to share them when I know they've arrived.


But during my flurry of stamping and paper cutting and die-cutting, my daughter decided to make a card for her Floridian penpal. Here she is showing off her card AND her new haircut! And in case you're wondering about her background. She's sitting on top of the white chest freezer with the white cutting board behind her. That's where I usually take my pictures of cards, so she thought it was appropriate for her card too. LOL

Unexpected Time to Play

Don't you just love it when those unexpected moments come up that you actually have time to sit down with all your scrappy stuff? My 2yo was BEGGING to take a nap at 11:30 (about 90 minutes before usual). He has been playing hard all morning, and I think that waffle he ate just conked him out. Then my dh left to go watch part of the UT/KY football game at a friend's house. So I felt no guilt about sitting down to whip out a quick card.

I need to get a birthday card in the mail today to my uncle. Masculine cards are always so hard. But this one was literally a 10 minute creation. I started with SketchThis:Cards #33. Used some scraps from the Scrap Treasures June kit and my little 2x2 Cuttlebug embossing folder.



And don't forget the Thanksgiving Sale in the Scrap Treasures store. Sunny even put up some new awesome mini-kits yesterday. EVERYTHING in the store is 30% OFF, even on clearance items. Enter discount code "thankful". The sale is good all weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). All orders will ship on Monday.

CPS #40

Loved this week's sketch from CPS! It sort of morphed itself, but I like the way this turned out. The cornucopia gave me lots of practice with my Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. I'll be mailing this one to my cousin on Friday for hosting Thanksgiving dinner.

Today's SFYTT

a/k/a "Sketch For Me To Put Off What I Really Should Be Doing." I'm supposed to be cleaning and re-organizing my stash. But every thing I touch immediately makes me think of a project I could do!! So when I ran across this paper (not sure who makes this...my guess would be Scrapworks??) and these dimensional flowers (a freebie from Adornit), I decided to try Jen's sketch. The sentiment is from my brand new Wonderful Wishes set from Verve Visual.

I just love Clickabella

She's just perfect for a card you want to send to an online friend....no matter what the occasion is!!

Altered Sonia Purse - Teacher's Survival Kit

Addison has had a student teacher (intern) in her class since the first day of school, and tomorrow is her last day. I had been racking my brain trying to come up with a teacher gift for her when my dear friend, Sunny, gave me the idea to make a Teacher's Survival kit. I've had this Sonia Purse from Creative Imaginations in my stash of alterables for a few months now. No time like the present to actually do something with it.

I used Mod Podge to cover the purse with some Foof-a-la and Daisy D's paper. Sanded the edges and gave them a quick swipe with paint. Used Diamond Glaze to adhere an oversized button I had tied some ribbon through.




















For the contents, I googled Teacher Survival Kit and found lots and lots of things you could include. This is what's in Miss Kaci's:

Mounds for the mounds of information you teach
Crayon to color your day
Band-Aid to remind you to heal hurt feelings
Marbles to replace ones you lose occasionally
Lifesavers for when you’ve had one of THOSE days
Kisses to make everything worthwhile
Bath Oil Beads to “take you away”
Rubber band to remind you of resiliency to “spring” back
“Jewels” because you are as valuable as a precious stone
Eraser because everyone makes mistakes
100 Grand Candy Bar so you will be paid what you’re worth
Snowflake –when all else fails, pray for a snow day!!!!

Rare Sights

Just sharing a couple of rare photo ops from today.

The first is my son, 25 mths. old, just back from the doctor with his very first ear infection. He was so miserable at the ped's office. I have never seem him cry so hard and so long with so many tears. It completely wore him out and not 15 minutes after we got home, he fell asleep propped up on pillows at the foot of our bed watching a movie. Of course, after a nap and some Motrin, he was back up, running like an wild man, into any and everything he could find. But those peaceful minutes when it's not designated "crib time" are a rare occurrence.

The second is the tree just outside our front door. I take this very same picture every year about this time, but the color always takes my breath away.

Creative Blogger Award

A couple of weeks ago I was nominated by my sweet friend Denean for this award. Thanks so much Denean! And I'm glad it wasn't for a "Timely Response to Blog Awards" award. LOLOL

You can read all about the origination of this HERE!

Compared to so much of what I read out there, my blog pales in the creativity department...and therefore I'd like to nominate:

Linda
Angel
Jen
Shirley, and
Ashley (or maybe Ashley should take the Courageous Bloggers Award! (((HUGS))) to you girlie)

Adornit: November Sponsor at Scrap Treasures

Georgana sent clear stamps for the Scrap Treasures designers to use this month! I was lucky enough to get to work with the Fanciful Flowers set. What a versatile set. I was able to put together 3 layouts very quickly!

The first layout uses the large stamp as a photo corner. And I accented with Stickles to match the jewel clip and the sequins in my daughter's shirt and skirt.

For the second layout I used 5 of the stamps to create a background on the white cardstock. So easy to stick all 5 on an acrylic block and use different colors of ink spots.

One the third layout, I colored in the large image using my prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. For the bling circle, I used one of the small circle doodly stamps to stamp around my circle pic. Then I just added a small dollop of Stickles to each one.







I had a blast using these stamps on my layouts! For the month of November, everything by Adornit in the store is 30% off including these stamps! A great big Thank You goes to Adornit Carolee's Creations for sponsoring Scrap Treasures in November.

Do you ever want to throw a snowball?

So it's not been a very good week at keeping up the blog. That really means it's not been a good week for finishing projects. Both of my kids have a hacking cough at night, and neither one has slept well all week. But last night I was able to whip up this card pretty quickly by using a preprinted quote sticker. This Gin-X paper has been in my stash for much too long (It's hard to use snow paper when you live in the South!). I think this will make a unique masculine birthday card. The challenge of the day on the Scrap Treasures message board is to use a preprinted quote on a card. We'd love to have you come join us!

New Way to Kill Time & Angel's Sketch 29

I am just not one of those people that can sit and wait without it causing major anxiety for me. I try to multi-task all day long to even TRY keep up with everything I need/want to do. So yesterday before I took Addison to dance class, I packed a small canvas tote bag with some stamped images, my pastels and a couple of blender pens. While she was in class, I sat in the lobby and had a marvelous time coloring!! I received several of these Clickabella images a couple of weeks ago in a giveaway on Carla's blog, but I hadn't had a chance to use them yet. I spend alot of time at the computer, so I really love this bella even though my desk never looks that clean.

When Angel posted Sketch 29 last night, I was able to whip up this card pretty quickly using one of the colored images. The paper is by Pebbles and the jewel accents came from the $1 bin at M's. I stamped Happy Birthday on the inside, and I'll be sending this one to a special online friend this month!

So tell me....do you have a fun way to pass the time while you're waiting for kids or sitting in the doctor's office?

Bring Out the Old, Bring In the New!

Can you believe I actually scrapped a page? I haven't done very many layouts since my back surgery, but I finally did a layout for a challenge for Treasure Week at Scrap Treasures. The challenge is to use one of your very newest patterned papers and one of your very OLDEST patterned papers. I started with the Fancy Pants True line. This double-sided paper is so yummy! Then I added the orange polka dot paper which came in a paper pack from my very first scrapbooking purchase from Creative Memories back in 2003!!! I just love this layout of pictures in the hospital when Clark was born.

I got my Wings!!!

...and a whole lot of new rubbah! Check it out here on my new blog!!!

Happy Halloween!

There have been too many festivities the past few days to have anything to share here except photos. Boy am I ready to fall back into a semblance of a routine...maybe then I can get some crafting done!

From Trunk or Treat Sunday night:












Carving pumpkins:















All dressed up for Trick or Treating!

Come for the FUN!

We've been cooking up some challenges, games and lots of chatter! Hope you'll join us starting Tuesday at Scrap Treasures!

Finally a card with Stamping!

Used Angel's sketch #13 for this birthday card. PP is from Dream Street Papers, flower stamp by Technique Tuesday, sentiment by CTMH, ribbon from my stash. I also tried the dry embossed circles using the Crop-a-dile, but it's obvious I either need more practice or I should just stick with my Cuttlebug. LOL

Multi-tasking with Die Cuts

A sweet online friend RAK'd me the cutest Halloween die-cuts, and I've had a blast using them to make some Halloween cards. It just so happens that the challenge running at Caardvarks is to use die-cuts on your card fronts. And I'm still catching up with the Angel's 31 days of sketches.

Here's my card for Sketch #9. How about a Halloween card with NO orange??? Paper is by KI Memories. Stamp from Michael's and filled in with Stampendous glitter. Sorry for the blurry picture.















For Sketch #14 I used more KI Memories patterned paper, some ribbon I received in a Rak several months ago, my old deco scissors and a "Spooky" sticker I've had for several years now. I just love using up my stash!

CPS #36 Sketch

I was so inspired by a couple of cute turkeys I saw in the November issue of Cards magazine. I just couldn't wait to case them. This week's CPS sketch seemed perfect for this silly fun Thanksgiving card. Feathers are from the Autumn Leaves Mini Make a Flower set. Used my Marvy scalloped circle punch for the turkey head and CTMH's Storytime alpha for the sentiment.

More Sketch Cards

I found time to make two more cards tonight! YAY!



The Halloween card is for Angel's sketch #11. I'm totally not crazy about this card, but maybe then I won't feel bad about mailing it to someone who is sure to send it to the landfill. Do you ever NOT mail a card just 'cause you love it too much for someone to throw it away? The stamps were part of a set I got at Michael's last year.













Now the card for sketch #12. I can't tell you how much I am loving the stamp for the sentiment! It's a clear stamp by Inkadinkado. I love using it with the Basic Grey Infuse paper. I really like how this one turned out!