Just Peachy Creations

Going strong in the New Year

2012-01-08T02:38:00.000-08:00

Finally figured out how to add posts to my blog over here in Russia, I apparently need a new computer! I am back, full tilt in scrapbook/card making mode and have been pumping out some great cards and awesome layouts, but today I want to share a card I made last year, of course last year was only a couple of days ago but I digress, circle and shape cards are all the rage at the moment and thanks to my cricut, I am able to make them. I love the circle cards and even though in my ex-patriot community there aren't a lot of babies around, every so often a cute little baby does come home with some one, so this card is for them.

I have had this paper forever, it is Making Memories and I think it was called Animal Crackers (boy), I also used a Making Memories rub-on for the cute 'little one' sentiment and topped it off with a ribbon I had lying around.

The close up is of the paper and the buttons, the paper was flocked which is why I held onto it for so long. A fun, soft card for a cute, soft baby. The buttons were from Close to my Heart, which I am very sad but had to give up my consultant status when I moved over here! Still some of my favorite scrapbook items and my sister still sells it, so I can always get something. Just a little something to get you all by till I make my next post, I am hoping to keep up my blog with lots of new ideas and inspire some of you!

2011-11-17T19:29:00.001-08:00

Finally I am posting for the first time since we moved to Russia. We have been here for almost 4 months now and it is an adjustment. Life is so convient in the States and since moving here, I only go out once a week to grocery shop and have had some difficulty finding some items I need. However that does give me lots of time to craft and have just finished creating some beautiful cards for the local expat Charity Christmas Bazaar. In the next couple of weeks I will show you some of the lovely things I have been making in my extra, extra spare time. This post is about Colorado and how I miss my friends there, but I made some great cards with a Cowboy theme, just to reminisce.

A cute little cowgirl card for all the birthday girls!

And for the Cowboys........

Split the difference and a gender neutral, just for fun and the sticker was cute. All supplies were Close to my Heart, Sasparilla Line. Would love to hear what you think! Comment!

A New Adventure

2011-03-02T15:39:00.001-08:00

Finally, we are on the move once again. My husbands company is transferring us to a new location. We are on the move to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin Islands, RUSSIA. I am excited to explore another part of our great world and have been frantically been selling and condensing my scrapbooking collection as we will be moving from 2800sqft to 1500sqft. I also have to give up my Close to my Heart Consultant Status as I cannot get any of thier fabulous products shipped there. I do plan to still keep my blog but the direction of my posts will be different as I will be focusing, not on classes, but catching up with my personal scrapbooking and enter various contests. I hope that I will meet some other expaitriates that also share my passion so that we can scrap together. In the coming months look for some posts regarding life in the Sakhalin Islands along with pictures. Wish me Luck and inspiration.

New Year, New Goals, New Idea Book!

2011-01-16T09:25:00.001-08:00

This year I decided to be pro-active with my businesses. I started doing family photography late last year and that is going at just the right pace. But this year I have decided to revamp my Close to my Heart and how I am going to run things, just like corporate did this year. Corporate Close to my Heart made the change of only 2Idea Books per year. Now the new Spring/Summer Idea Book is packed full of extra paper packs, embellishments, chipboard and other fun stuff all starting in February!

The new and improved Idea Book still has some great features like the Stamp of the Month, Workshops on the Go, Exclusive CTMH colors and same great stamp sets.

The changes I intend on making will hopefully excite and encourage those to paticipate and enjoy scrapboking once again. I am keeping all my day crops, classes (maybe adding a few), same products and help that everyone recieved last year. Changes will include incentives, purchase a paper pack out of the new Idea Book and attend either the evening classes for the month OR the all-day Saturday crop for FREE! On top of that, for every $25 in new CTMH product you buy, you will get an additional $10 of open stock product in my studio. The great clearance! For those who attend classes and crops on a regular basis this is a great deal for them, they spend and little and get alot...FREE, every month! For those who read this blog, I have not forgotten you, I will be giving away Blog Candy once a month, you must be a follower of this blog and leave a comment on one of my posts during that month.

As for me, I will be showcasing 1-2 paper packs a month, this month I have awesome cards and a fantastic layout already made with the new 'Wings' paper pack. Check back for a look at what I created!

Just around the corner!

2010-12-21T08:31:00.001-08:00

Here is Christmas right around the corner and I thought, cause I haven't blogged in a while, some of my favorite Christmas cards I have made. All of these cards contain Close to my Heart paper and each one so individual!

This one has some great circles on it and I used a very old paper pack, Just Chillin, I still love the colors in this palette and the retro snowflakes.

This card is made entirely from cardstock alone. I love Pink for winter, it seems soft just like snow. But the multiple shades of pink make the card for me! With real stitching around everything you just want to touch this card over and over!

This is a fun paper pack called 'Jingle' and I love the different shapes on this card. With a heat embossed 'Jingle' and stitching I constantly run my fingers across it!

I constantly get compliments on this card, maybe it's monocromatic scheme or just a bit of sparkle but everyone loves this card!
This awesome card has some of my favorite colors, Blue and Brown, not overly traditional but with white snowflakes, rhinestones, heat embossing, ribbon and stitching this card has lots of elements to play with!
I hope you liked my cards and find inspiration in them!

Heart 2 Heart Challenge - Heat/Dry Embossing

2010-10-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

I went a little crazy with the Heat Embossing on this one, I choose just simple Clover Meadow Cardstock and Random Stamped/Heat Embossed the back ground. I then Stamped out the title and heat embossed that baby.

To add a soft touch to my page, I stitched this fun pattern up the side of the pictures to hopefully push the idea of 'Spring' with a little jump! Just a fun page using only pictures, 1 piece of paper and some embossing for that brilliant white!

Heart to Heart Challenges

2010-10-18T15:42:00.001-07:00

What a great opportunity to be a sponsor for this weeks challenge at Heart to Heart Challenges! I have been very busy getting ready for craft fairs and jumpstarting my new family photography business, you can find my FB page called Just Peachy Family Photography. But I am excited by this weeks challenge...Dry/Heat embossing! If you never have done either you should definately try it...everyone I know who tries it falls in love with embossing, it brings your projects to the next level. I encourage you to try it and submit your finished project to Heart to Heart Challenges and you might win my fabulous prize, a full Key to my Heart Kit, this was a promotion a while back, you can not buy this from your local Close to my Heart Consultant, so play the Heart 2 Heart Challenge and this fancy prize might be yours!!!

5 for $5 - Halloween Treat Containers

2010-10-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

This is my first class after having our new baby daughter, but she is now 9 1/2 weeks old and it's time to get back into the swing of things. The next couple of months are going to fly by, with lots of holidays coming up, ih ave a long list of everything I would like to get done. But my first 5 for $5 this month is for Halloween, we are making treat containers. These fun little things perk up any Spooky gift giving.

this easy little bag is made with patterned paper from Close to my Heart's New Hooligans line. Fun Halloween colors and the stamp set used is called 'Beware'.

This scary popcorn cup is made with Orange Close to my Heart Cardstock, cut on the Cricut, and embellished with some creepy patterned paper. To finish this cup off we cut tags and added some ribbon.

You can't see it in the picture very well but each box we will make has been random stamped with CTMH's September stamp of the month, 'Thriller'. Great art on this stamp set. I also used glimmer mist to give each box and eerie green shine. Fun and easy to fill, the clear front let's you show what's in the box...no suprises here.

Easy to make, this bag topper can be attached to any ziploc bag and given away with lots of candy inside...what a way to dress up a boring snack bag.

Super fun Frankenstien Matchbooks, just attach your candy to the inside and give away. I first saw this great idea on Vicki Wizniuk's Blog, thanks for the inspiration Vicki!
The class is tomorrow night and I hope that this one sells out...I am also opening this up to anyone who wants to do this in the afternoon if they can.

Autumn/Winter Idea Book Open House and Crop

2010-09-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

It's National Scrapbooking Month and the kick off of another new idea book. The Autumn/Winter Idea Book is here and on September 25th from 10am - 5pm, we are having a party. I have prizes for those of you who come, gifts for those who RSVP with a friend so feel free to extend this invitation to your friends and anyone who does an order that day over $50 will recieve $10 of open stock scrapbooking supplies including paper, stamps, blocks and more. We would love to have you come and crop with us, try out the newest of the scrapbook 'recipe' books called 'Magic' or play with new paper and stamps, BUT if you don't have time to crop with us, let me know that you want to drop by and your name still goes in the draw for prizes! Crop fee for the day is $10/with lunch or $6/no lunch or drop by for FREE! If all this doesn't tempt you, this is my first event after the baby, so come over for a cuddle with the cutest 7 week old. Let's kick off September right, and do something more with our memories. Want to come? To RSVP, email me at jpeach1@q.com or click on the meetup group button in the side column.

Autumn/Winter 2010 Idea Book Sneak Peek

2010-09-11T19:21:00.000-07:00

Here we are again for another great Idea Book. What better time to get your papercrafting going than the Autumn/Winter months with Craft Fairs, Christmas Cards, Halloween and Thankgiving just around the bend.

With four new, fun paper packs to display, more new stamp sets to mention and great coordinating embellishments to compliment your projects this Idea Book if full of great ideas too.

This new paper pack is called Magnifique, and has 2 brand new colors in it, Lagoon, Pacifica and Sky. With its regal design, fun coordinating stamps and embellishments to compliment the design, there are tons of great pages and products to be made.

This paper pack is named Olivia. It also has three new colors, Pear, Smoothie and Sunset. With great Autumn colors and awesome designs, I see a multitude of fun projects in my future.

Hooligans is the name of this paper pack and it fits it to a tee! This paper pack scares up four new colors, Gypsy, Lagoon, Pear and Sunset. With frightful and fun designs, you'll want to things to go BUMP in the night. There are also fun, fuzzy monsters that coordinate with this kit for eve more design possiblities.

This pack is ready to kiss, it's name is Mistletoe. With gentle colors and a classic christmas motif, this paper pack makes me want go caroling and invite friends over. With lots of great ideas including the keepsake ornaments that you can build from this kit, your gifts can become personalized.

After you complete your order, your could get this creepy stamp set for a discount or even FREE! It will be great for Halloween or anything else you can think of.
I am having a Autumn/Winter Idea Book Crop and Open House on September 24th, so you can see all the new products, if you are in the Denver Metro area, contact me for more information.

The New Arrival!

2010-08-26T16:57:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since my last post but we have since had our newest addition. She is now 3 weeks old and I faintly remember sleeping well and not smelling like fomula. Another joy to our life and far more PINK than I ever seen, we are happy that she is healthy and a great little baby. Above is the Birth Announcement that was my first attempt in a long time at Photoshop CS3, and I can say, Thank Goodness there are so many Photoshop tutorials online, Phew! I hope to scrapbook my new angel right away and am ready to get back into the swing of things. I am also excited about the new Close to my Heart Idea Book that is coming out as of September 1, 2010 and am looking forward to kicking off that last part of the year being really busy with Crops, MOPS and Pre-school. I would love to hear what you think of my annoucement and welcome all comments.

Heart 2 Heart Color Challenge

2010-06-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

This weeks challenge on Heart 2 Heart was a color challenge. I love color challenges and enjoy trying to use my colors in interesting ways. The color challenge this week was Black, Tulip and Buttercup.

As I was looking through everyone's entries on Heart 2 Heart, at last check no one had done a layout yet, it was all cards. With cards not being my forte, I choose to use a picture which has the perfect colors in it. I bought a top for my daughter from the Gap ages ago and when it finally fit we had to take pictures of it because she was and still is growing like a weed!

This is the layout I came up with and I think it turned out better than I expected. Using mostly Close to my Heart products, I think this layout ended up in one of my favorites.

There is a ton of faux stitching on this layout, including on this CTMH Chipboard border. I originally used this piece of chipboard as a mask for Candy Apple Red Glimmer Mist, so it was already the correct color, what you can't see in the photo is that Candy Apple Glimmer Mist has some gold flecks in it which looks really great with the Buttercup Cardstock. Also the brads are a mini-brad from Close to my Heart and I used that to add some fun flair to the chipboard.

The top Buttercup cardstock die cut was actually had cut and I added the 2 colors of faux stitching around the border. Just for fun I added the mini-brads as an accent in the corner.

This is the element that brought it all together, the title, colored with Tulip Ink, these are an Close to my Heart exclusive, Color Ready Alphabets: Hodgepodge. I can choose any number of fonts and mix and match to my hearts content, I like the mixed font especially for kids as it shows whimsy and fun!!!

Journaling Reads: It gets a whole lot more complicated when you have kids...The most terrifying day of your life is the day the first one is born...Your life, as you know it...is gone. Never to Return. But they learn how to walk, and they learn to talk...and you want to be with them. And they turn out to be the most delightful people you will ever meet in your life. -
This Quote is from the movie, Lost in Translation, and it is better said by writers than by me!
Would love to hear what you think, and please play the Heart 2 Heart challenge with us next time.

Heart to Heart Father's Day Card Challenge

2010-06-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

Another reason to get inspired this week, I decided to play along with Heart to Heart Challenges (see button in sidebar) and of course it was a Father's Day Card challenge. So as I was looking thru the latest issue of Papercraft's Magazine a card caught my eye. Following thier design, I created my own version of this card using Close to my Heart products.

Using a my favorite 2 patterned papers from the Sarsparilla Paper Pack and stamping with Western Flourishes in the background. Mostly monotone, this a cool masculine card that will please my husband.

As you can see I used a large Chipboard star(not CTMH), that was inked in Twilight and then stamped Western Flourishes in Black for a neat design. Colonial White buttons with Black embroidery floss finish off the center of the star.

Just for fun I stamped the inside with my favorite swirly star stamp from Out West, just to make the inside as cute as the front. Hope you all like my Father's Day card, I welcome any comments and suggestions.

5 for $5 Workshop - Thank You's

2010-06-14T09:27:00.001-07:00

Lately, I believe thta there is a lost art of giving real, hold in your hand cards. Even I am guilty of giving e-cards, they are fast and some are really cute, even though I have a hundred cards I have made and can send at any time, convience is key with e-cards. So my goal this year was to stop sending e-cards and start making cards to give away. One set of cards I NEVER have enough of are 'Thank You's". I make them and send them out immediately. I like to give them to eveyone, for helping me with lunch, giving us a gift, for being nice, mostly for anyone who has gone that extra mile, I try to give a card that also goes tht extra mile, I made it for them. This month's workshop is dedicated to Thank You's. On Wednesday this week, we will be making 5 Thank You's for $5, a great price for any handmade card, seeing as how Hallmarks printed cards can range from $3 - $20, I am pretty reasonable!

I always try to give variety with my card workshops, using lots of different colors and trying interesting techniques on each of them.

This card is really fancy, with organza ribbon, cute scalloped edge and jewels.

A cool card for a male or a co-worker, this fun card has a fun design with a retro 'Thanks', this card can be assembled in under 5 minutes.

I adore the colors on this card, with a sampling of Close to my Heart's Boom-di-ada paper pack, this card is sure to please anyone. Front and center is a sweet flower Thank You for your friend.

With subtle colors and fun faux stitching, this card is an easy crowd pleaser.

This card was inspired by a fellow consultant, I call it Fairway Trees, cause it looks like the trees are on the fairway. This is an easy card to get more creative with because the Treetops (C1368), there are a variety of trees that you can choose from!
Each card is different and fun, I hope that when they take these cards home, they will be mailed out right away...why not when you have them on hand!!!

Random Stamping Project #2

2010-06-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

This next project is one of my favorite newer stamp sets called Flourished Blessings (D1379). We stamped the background in Juniper, Cocoa and Garden Green.

I also did some Second Generation Stamping on the background to fill and not make it feel so layered. As I was searching through my pictures, I found this cute shot of my Daughter looking through one of the holes in the tubes at the local playground, she kept sneaking and peeking at me so I did get more than one shot of this, but you can tell in her eyes that she is smiling.

This layout is mostly Close to my Heart products except the chipboard letters are American Crafts and then I altered them with Tattered Angles Glimmer Mist to give it a pewter/hammered metal look. I also added the brad circle to mimic the circle in the picture. I still have room to add a journaling circle in the bottom left corner but I am not one for journaling...I like it when the pictures and titles tell the story.

I think this layout is fun and I love the colors in it. Next post is going to be the last sheet of random stamped paper and the projects I made with it!!!

Random Stamping Creation #1

2010-06-05T10:43:00.001-07:00

Just as I thought the first thing I started on after random stamping my papers was Thank you Cards. Stamped with Aspiration(C1340)in Juniper, Hollyhock, Blush and Bamboo, the final page looked like this:

I finally decided that making Thank You cards you save me time when our little girl arrives in August and who wants to make Thank You cards after the baby comes! So this sheet yielded 16 small cards, each one an individual.

The cards are 3"x3.5", made out of Hollyhock Cardstock, then I took my cut up piece and lightly sponged the edges with Blush Ink and adhered to the cardstock base. Then I stamped 16 'Thanks' and matted them on a small piece of Hollyhock Cardstock (leftover from the cutting the bases), popped them up on 3D foam tape and Voila! they are complete.

I have already completed another project with the Random Stamped Backgrounds so I will post that tommorrow. If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear what you think.

Random Stamping Class

2010-06-04T11:42:00.001-07:00

I have been inspired lately on the CTMH Consultant Bulletin Boards with Random Stamping, so I booked a class for June 9th and we will be playing with random stamping. Some scrapbookers are afraid of stamping in this is a great way to get over that fear and create something completely unique and fits your color schemes. This post I will show you the random stamped pages for my class and in a following post I will show you what I made with each random stamped sheet!

Using this My Acrylix Stamp Set - Aspiration - C1340 and using CTMH Exclusive ink colors: Bamboo, Juniper, Hollyhock and Blush, stamped on White Daisy Cardstock.

I have a feeling that this page will end up in Thank You cards as we are expecting a little one in August and I may as well get a jump on Thank You notes.

This My Acrylix Stamp set is Flourished Blessings - D1379. I wanted to use some darker colors so we used CTMH Exclusive Inks: Cocoa, Juniper & Garden Green stamped on Vanilla Cream Cardstock. I also used another stamp technique on this page, Second Generation Stamping, you will see lighter shades of leaves in the background and instead of choosing another color I thought this would fill up the page nicely.

A great print for fall or any outdoor layout...I am not sure yet what this will turn into but I am very happy with the outcome.

The final stamp set is Discontinued but one of my favorites, My Acrylix - Adorable -D1183. This stamp has been used over and over again, I always find uses for it. I paired the stamp with Exclusive Inks: Barn Red, Sorbet, Chocolate & Creme Brulee stamped on Colonial White Cardstock for an unusual color combo.

This page looks kinda western to me so we will see where it will end up. As for my class I hope to post thier random stamped pages and I hope they are as happy with them as I was with mine.

Welcoming Spring

2010-05-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

The weather here is finally nice and I love to bask in the great tempurature. Besides scrapbooking and papercrafting I also make wreaths. You will never see me without one on my door and I think that last spring was the first time that I displayed a wreath that I did not make, it was a glitter egg wreath, for Easter, but when the hail hit, the next day it looked like all the little chicks had jumped out of thier fancy eggs and ran away. So this year I saw an example of the wreath that I liked in the Southern Living at Home catalogue and decided to reproduce it. Finally the stems I liked went on SALE and I picked them up and made the wreath today. It took me about an hour but I love the final result and I think I over wired those Hydreangea blooms in place! I look forward to having this displayed for the rest of the Spring and now my mind is rolling with ideas for a Tropical Summer Wreath. If you would like easy instructions on how I made this, comment or email me!

Summer Idea Book Kick Off

2010-05-15T09:54:00.001-07:00

So here I am writing about my Summer Idea Book Kick Off Party before it has even started, I guess I am hoping for big things. This cute monocromatic tag is the Make n Take for the day, 90% Close to my Heart products*. I choose Tulip as my Exclusive color for this tag and used Candy Apple Red Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels* and a Dimensional Elements Border (chipboard) as a mask which gives us the cool swirl in the background. Using Tulip Ink, I stamped the May Stamp of the Month and cut out the Thank You, then adhered it to the tag with 3D foam tape. I also added the Just Blooms Paper Flower and Butterfly in Tulip. Threaded White Daisy Organdy Ribbon thru the hole and tied with Tulip Embroidery Floss. To finish it off I used our Clear Sparkles and made it shine. This whole project takes 10 minutes to make and shows like you spent hours slaving over it! I hope you try this Close to my Heart project and send it to someone you are thankful for!

Summer Idea Book Kick Off and Crop

2010-05-12T08:02:00.001-07:00

You are invited
The New Summer Idea Book is here!!!!! Come one and Come all, I am having an Idea Book Open House and Crop on May 15, 2010 from 10:30am-4:30pm. There will be draws, sale items and of course new ideas. For those of you looking for a day to crop and get some layouts done, come and crop for $10 (including lunch). Those of you, who can't make it, come for a make and take and the draws.
Those people who do an order will also receive 10% of their order (pre-tax + ship) on in-stock paper and embellishments. This means if you do and order for $50 you will receive and additional $5 in scrapbook supplies THAT DAY!!! If you have been to a crop or a class you know what kinds of supplies are available to you! Also if you RSVP with a friend (open house/crop) I will have a special gift for you! This is a one day only event and with draws in over $50 worth of product it is not a day to miss! If you live in the Denver Metro Area and plan to come to either, the open house or crop, please contact me and when you RSVP, verify in which capacity that you will be joining us! I hope to see you there!

I'm Going to Disneyland!

2010-04-26T16:07:00.001-07:00

This is my first time going to Disneyland, and with the price of plane tickets to Denver, it was cheaper for the inlaws and my family to fly to Disneyland together. So that is where we are off to on Thursday this week. Asking around, I got some great advice to get/make an Autograph Book. So to make it an Mother/Daughter affair, we decided to make it together. Seeing a how my daughter is only 4 years old, I thought she did a really great job putting together the book. She painted both front and back chipboard covers, glued the paper and put all the fancy stickers down. With a little help from me, I think that we got a great book with space for an autograph and on the opposite page of the autograph is a place for a picture with that charater. I used a 7 Gypsy's Spiral notebook, paper and sticker were all from Michael's, the fancy satin princess stickers were on clearance the day I went so they were a good deal. I figure we can fill in the missing pages with stickers I find at Disneyland and of course you never know who you are going to see! With space left at the back of the book for extra anything, I think this is a book that she will cherish for years to come. I hope to post pictures of our trip soon so check back for great ideas.

A Miracle Awaits You...

2010-04-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

This charming Scrapbooking Kit featuring spring-inspired colors and floral patternis is miraculously easy to assemble with no stamping required. The brochure will guide you through easily creating two beautiful 2-page layouts.
There are several ways to snatch this fashionable Miracle Kit at a great discount or even FREE*:
-Purchase the kit outright for $19.95*
-Place a minimum order of $40 and purchase the kit for only $10*
-Place a minimum order of $60 and purchase the kit for only $5*
-Sign up as a new consultant between May 1-31 and recieve a kit FREE!
-Host a Home Gathering between April 15-May 31 with a minimum sales of $300 and recieve a kit FREE!
Amaze yourself and your friends during National Scrapbooking Month in May with gorgeous layouts you create using our Miracle kit. You can order your kit through me, today!
* Tax ans shipping/handling apply. Offer valid April 15-May 31, 2010. Limit of one discounted price kit per order. Available for a limited time while supplies last. Qualifying minimum purchases do not include Studio J orders.

For more information click here!

Creative Colors Class - Expedition

2010-03-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

For March, I decided this class will follow the old wives tale, in like a Lamb and out like a Lion or vice versa. At least I tried to follow the Lion part, this months paper pack was Expedition, awesome desert colors in a Zoo or Adventure kit. This Creative Colors kit class is only $5 and comes with a variety of papers and accessories.

What is included in the Expedition Kit is 2 sheets of Bamboo Cardstock, 1 sheet of Autumn Terracotta Cardstock, 1 sheet of Distressed Olive patterned paper, 1 sheet of Safari Stripe patterned paper, Hemp or Twine, 2 Antique Copper Photo Corners, 1 Antiques Copper Ribbon Slide, 1 Antique Copper Bookplate, 2 Antique Copper Photo Clips(Arrow or Rectangle)including all the brads you need. All Antique Copper accessories are actual metal not plastic or resin painted to look like real metal, that is one of my favorite differences with Close to my Heart products. In this class you have the option of making either cards OR a 2 page layout, I have included some of my examples of what you can do with this kit!

This fun little monkey card was crafted with using the bare basics of the kit, just ink, stamps and some dry embossing was added to make this a kid and crowd pleaser.

One of my favorite sayings of all time is on this card. A little more interesting to say than, 'Stop and smell the flowers.' With a fun stamped background, and the awesome patterned paper this card will definately be sent out soon.

A fun cut out and tactile stitching make this card easy on the eyes. Super fast to make and easy cuts, I will make more with different papers!

Even though I didn't use Zoo pictures for my layout, our recent trip to the Garden of the Gods had the perfect colors for this paper. I ended up using all my accessories on this one page but I love the dark embellishments against the light background. I will post some other layouts I have done tomorrow with this paper and you can see the versatility of use. This creative colors class is on Tuesday March 23, 2010 at 7pm for those who want to join us, just email me and I am sure I can get you in if you are in the Denver Metro area.

Vague Occasions Card Workshop

2010-03-09T22:36:00.000-08:00

This month's card workshop is all about cards for any occasion! Sometimes we all need cards that aren't geared towards a certain event, this is that workshop. My 5 for $5 card workshop is an assembly only class with a room to be creative. Each card this workshop has a little something extra added to it to make that card unique.

This is a super simple card but I pumped it up with a cute flower to mimic the background and an adorable scalloped edge to finish it off.

This dark looking card is one of my favorites, other than loving stars, so easy to cut out, but I used some gold paint to make my stars POP! You may not be able to see it in the photo but in person, it shines.

The colors in this card draw me in and with a 3D Fleur de Lis and cute antique copper mini-brads I think this card is ready to send.

A fun card with bright colors, a perfect sentiment and cool twill across the bottom this card is sure to stay on someones mantel for quite a while.

Who doesn't want to celebrate with cupcakes? Sparkley cupcakes at that! Very simple but I love the sparkle this card gives.
I do have fun putting together these workshops but I also love seeing the creativity that others have with my pre-cut cards. I am looking forward to this next workshop, if you are interested and in the Denver-Metro Area, message me and we would love to have you join us!

Creative Colors Class - Boom di Ada Paper

2010-02-23T15:58:00.000-08:00

This week is the start of my Creative Colors Classes. I choose a great color palette with some versitile hues.

The class is $5 and included in this kit is 2 sheets of 12x12 Sweet Leaf cardstock, 1 sheet of Hollyhock cardstock, 1 sheet of Scroll, B&T (Background and Texture) paper, 1 sheet of Stripe B&T paper, over 24" of large Hollyhock Ricrac, 5 Arrow photoclips with brads and 5 assorted buttons. And my examples of what you can make with this kit are as follows...

This is a cute little card using pieces of the kit including the card base made out of Sweet Leaf cardstock. I just pumped up this card with a Close to my Heart Rub-on that says "You're Special".

This card was inspired by the lower layout and has a great pattern called 'Done Right' which is found in the new Close to my Heart Card Confindence Program Book called Wishes!

I love this pattern and it works sooo well for every paper. I also have a Cricut that makes cutting circles a breeze and not a pain. I also added the safety pin to the center of the knot to break up the pink!!!

This cards took alot of time because of all the stiching...but it is my favorite of the group, sometimes doing more means MORE. I think it turned out super well and would do it again and again.

This is the same pattern as the flower card, 'Done Right', just turned for the way I wanted the card to face. I heat embossed all the background which I think makes it look super elegant. I did add my own pearls to pump it up to the next level but I think it made all the difference.

This layout is of my little one and her Uncle Cody during easter in 2008. I thought the colors matched so well that is just flowed together. I think with the idea of the layout and what I had to work with this layout took less time than most of the cards...Looks great though! I think this class will go very well and the price works for my area. If you are in the Denver Metro area, drop me a line if you want to attend any of my classes. I hope to post all the creative ideas from the ladies tonight using the same kit!

Last Minute Valentine's

2010-02-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

Here we are, on Valentine's Day and Dance Class is tomorrow for my 4 year old. So we quicky went downstairs to my workshop and punched out these cute valentines for her classmates.

If you couldn't tell, I let my daughter glue and put on all the jewels, so they might be a bit crooked but a piece of her helped me make these. I used an older paper pack I had called 'Hey Sugar' from Cosmo Cricket. I love this paper pack but as we all should...I am trying to make way for new and interesting paper and ideas. Just a little valentine's love is all people need today. Hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day.

For the Girls

2010-02-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

I did an awesome project with my friend Kim for her 2 girls who are off to college already. They both love to journal, so we thought we would dress them up a little and send them off to the girls.

This notebook is for Emily, an avid writer and the most recent to be pushed out of the nest. She is a classy gal with timeless style, kinda like the notebook. She likes to write books or novels for enjoyment so I think that she will get the most use out of these books. We chose SEI - Poppy Collection for this book because of it's classic appeal...I hope she enjoys it.

Can you tell how different the sisters are? Brittany is fun, lively, total girl and the life of the party, just like this fun notebook. Before Brittany left for college I made her a great 'office' set with the same paper. Check out that post here! So of course we continued this line of paper and had a ton of fun picking just the right papers. If you like this paper it is SEI - Chocolat.
I hope they appreciate these books, I could make a ton of them I just don't know what I would do with them. Any Ideas?

Love those 5 for 5's

2010-02-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

So when this year started, I did not make a resolution but I did make a goal! A goal to grow my business down here in Colorado. The last year I have had no luck making contacts, anyone being the least bit interested or making friends with the same interests. Needless to say, I have felt like a failure...but, now being here a year, I have met some new contacts and friends who, like me do enjoy to create every now and then. Next hurdle, no one want's to spend any of thier money, so here is the idea...apparently if you keep your classes under $5 with lots of stuff in them... people will decide to join you. So above is a picture of my 5 cards for $5. Easy simple cards that are ready for assembly and super simple to make. In the past year I have had to cancel class after class for 'no interest'...now I have 6 ladies coming, all ready to make one or two sets. I hope this keeps up for my next workshop, another 5 for 5...Baby Cards. Any insight as to why ladies are now interested in doing classes would be greatly appreciated. Happy Valentines Day.

Celebrate National Papercrafting Month with the Felicity Collection!

2010-01-06T09:07:00.001-08:00

Celebrate papercrafting with the stunning Felicity Collection! The collection features decorative die-cut paper, three gorgeous color schemes, and a D-size stamp set that include flowers, flourishes, argyle patterns, birds, and an entire alphabet! Your papercrafting possibilities are endless!

There are three ways to get the Felicity collection:

•Purchase it at full retail price for $34.95 US/$40.95 CAN. (CC1008)
•Place an order of $60/$70 or more in full-retail priced stamp sets (A, B, C, D, and E-size) and receive one collection FREE! (CC1008A) Excludes: Stamp of the Month, Art & Soul®, Workshop on the Go™, and customizable (K) stamp sets.
•Place an order of $125/$145 or more in full-retail priced Close To My Heart products and receive one collection FREE! (CC1008B)
Celebrate with the Felicity Collection today!

Limit of one FREE kit per order, which includes part numbers CC1008, CC1008A, or CC1008B. Standard shipping and handling is charged on full retail value. Tax may apply. While supplies last.

This is an awesome kit and will only be available for a limited time, if you would like to order this kit, contact me and I can send it to you! Happy New Year!

Craft Fair Crazy

2009-12-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

This year I did my first round of craft fairs here in Colorado. A ton of fun and got to meet a bunch of new people. I was in my 'workshop for about 2 week prior to the craft fairs just getting ready. I would say the turn out at the craft fairs this year was not as good as others, but still I met a lot of great people. Here are just some of the items I had on my table.

Of course I had a bunch of cards, a staple for any papercrafters table. I thought I had a great variety but it seems that handmade cards aren't in 'fashion' anymore.

Alteralbe items were made, including Picture frames and Shadowboxes. With funky colors and a great price, I was sad they didn't sell.

Here is what did sell, Purse Books, a little notepad with matching pen. Also coil notebooks sold, looks like people are big writers in Colorado. There were also a great variety of 'Clippy Boards' were there and they didn't sell very much either.

Last but not least, I made some quick Gift tags and stuck them all over this tree. Thanks to my Cricut this idea went really fast and also looked beautiful. However being on the tree, I think customers were scared to touch them...wish they had. I also made a bunch of gift card holders for the ever popular gift cards...we had a good response for those. All in all, it was well worth it...even just to meet new people. I look forward to next year and all the new items I can create!

One Holiday down, One to Go!

2009-11-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

What fun we had that the Harvest Brunch for church. I decided to decorate a table with my friend Kim. I had seen what Jeanette Lynton had done with her Thanksgiving placesetting and decided to base my design off hers. Check out Jeanettes post here. I had lots of fun making all the little items like, Glass Wraps, Napkin Rings and placemats, lots of other ladies brought some delicious food to feed us. I then used the items we made and put them on my own table for our Thanksgiving dinner this last Thursday, It looked great, I am glad I got more than one use out of them. However after our family dinner the placemats had to be thrown out...who knew we were soooo messy.

Creative Cards

2009-11-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

I would like to applaud everyone who is a dedicated cardmaker, I was never intending on being a card maker, I actually still send E-cards to the family on thier birthday. Bad Memory. However, the ladies from the swap were obviously cardmakers.

This great card is simple with big appeal. The fun stamp is new to this season's Idea Book called Holiday Jingle. With bright paper and whimsical ribbon, it catches your eye from anywhere.

I am amazed at all the little details put in this card, from embossing the card itself to faux stitching. Lots of great features and definately a crowd pleaser!

A fun winter card featuring a smilling snowman. Even though the design is simple, the fun addition was actual twigs added to the snowman for arms! Look close. Paired with cute jewels and shiny snowflakes and this card is a winner.

I was blown away when I got this card. Not only is it full of great ideas, the zig zag pattern on the card base is actually stamped christmas trees! Amazing what you can do with CTMH's clear stamps! I also love the punches of bright red.

I love this card, every inch of it has been well thought out. From the heat embossed background to the paperpieced dress on the new 'Ms.' stamp. There are more little things to look at on this card, so take a peek and let me know what else you see!
I am expecting my next swaps any day now, along with craft fairs this next weekend and family in from out of town it is bound to be a busy time. But I will hopefully have a great Thanksgiving post for you soon,

Christmas Tags Swap

2009-11-23T08:49:00.000-08:00

I am always amazed by everyone elses creativity. They always tend to do something unexpected which makes it unique and wonderful. This is why I love to participate in swaps, these tags are a sample of the unexpected creativity that I am talking about, fun, whimsy and now to be cherished for years to come.

I fell in love with this great ornament tag because of the great design and 'POW' colors. The snow on the front is heat embosses and cute jewels jazz up the front, but if you look closely, you'll see the ornament hanger is a different paper, that is because it opens up to reveal the names, to and from.

This awesome tag was a suprise as it is a Shaker tag. Snowman and tree are inside with of course...snow, then she had cut some great smaller snowflakes that are drifting down. Totally creative and I would love to make 100 of these.

Classicly beautiful tag. I love all the layered ribbons and tied together with a gorgeous brad. The stamp if from Close to my Heart called 'Heartfelt Christmas', it is gorgeous and I think I have almost worn my set of this stamp OUT!

Even though this tage is cute and pretty...it's the minature bells on the bottom of the card that really struck me as ingenious. I also love the clear embossing and glitter on the tag. I think without glitter, Christmas isn't near as pretty or magical. Next, I would love to show you my favorite cards I got from the swap, also full of great ideas!!!

Swap Spoiler

2009-11-13T08:14:00.001-08:00

Busily working away in my basement trying to get my swaps completed. So yesterday I sent out my next set of swap items. I had to make 10 double page layouts, all made of the same paperpack, 'Jingle' and I will get back 9 different layouts.

This first layout was made was with Clost to my Hearts new Jingle Creative Basics pack. This pack of paper is for card making, but I couldn't resist the cute patterns and juniper colored ribbon.

This layout was made with the Jingle Bulk pack. This has papers from the retail paper pack in it and I love the cute presents. The real Jingle paper pack is fun and has lots of great papers in it to help with your christmas scrapbooking. Check back soon as I will be posting the swap items that get returned to me so you can see every awesome idea to make with the new Jingle paper pack!!!

I'm dreaming of a Creative Christmas

2009-11-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

Here we are the beginning of November and I have already sent out a box of Christmas related items. I have joined a ton of swaps and need to get them done ASAP. So these items are from the first swap and I had to make about 10 of each of these items. This candle I thought was really cute because it was kinda vintage Christmas, with awesome heat embossing and cute paper this was lots of fun to make.
This item was a 3" circle tag and I think it is really cute, but I used a 3-D foam dot on the white circle and so it is no longer practical to write your name on there. Oops!

Here is another tag for the swap, I really like the way that this tag turned out, it has classic elements of the season. I also jazzed it up with some Liquid Glass from Close to my Heart to make it shine.

This sweet card should warm everyones heart this season. I had fun making this card and am planning on replicating it in the future for card workshops. If you live in the Denver Area, I will be holding Christmas Card Workshops in my studio. If you are interested please email me and I can get you the workshop information. We there are lots more Christmas Ideas to come, so come back for more great ideas.

Confusing

2009-10-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

So just before I left to Calgary I submitted this 3-d project to CTMH for thier monthly contest. So sure I was going to win, it was a shock to me that I didn't even rank in the top 6, only cards and layouts did. So do I email CTMH and ask for this project back after they clearly state that no projects will be returned? Or do I let them show this at convention and have lots of ladies love the project and I get nothing in return for my awesome idea? I am not sure how to continue but I am confused!

Motivation

2009-10-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

So before the wedding I had signed myself up for about 5 different swaps with about 20 different projects to be made in multiples, and I haven't started them. I am have lost the motivation to go down stairs and get my scrapbooking started again. That must be the reason why you don't go away for a month. All of my swaps are christmas related so keep looking back for great christmas ideas. My goal this week is to get all my swaps started and finish one multiple project a night. I am sure I can do that. Stay tuned for me trying to meet my goal.

Wedded Bliss!

2009-10-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

Phew! The wedding is over! As all weddings do, it took a while to get there and there were some bumps in the road, but now it is over and we can relax again. Of course everything turned out lovely and I even had some time to help out with certain creative aspects of the wedding like the placecards. My daughter had been waiting so long to be a flowergirl with her cousin and they did look cute in thier dresses. The pictures above are just a little peek of over 600+ pictures we took that day. So what is on the agenda for the next 3 months...I have a bunch of christmas stuff I am going to be making in the next couple of weeks and need to get other things ready for thanksgiving and valentines day. With so many holidays lumped up in the next little bit, I should be like Santa's elves and be working non stop till then. Keep looking for pics of all the swaps I am in and other great ideas!

My Sketch World

2009-09-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

See what I mean about a great September. My Sketch World has also asked me to be a guest designer for the month of September. Such a talented group of ladies over there, I am awestuck by the creations. My Sketch World also has great galleries and forums, lots of great ideas and tips on there. Look for my Daily 'Creative Dose' to give you inspiration and I will also be shelling out '{Blog Love}'in the forum and great place to focus on someones blog for that week. Now my September did NOT get off right...it's only the 2nd too. My big open house that I scheduled turned out to be a bust. NO ONE showed. Bummer. I guess it was the wrong night? Oh Well, maybe next time.

Scrapping Out LOUD!

2009-09-01T07:49:00.001-07:00

What a great month September is going to be! Scrapping Out LOUD! has asked me to be thier Guest Designer for the week of September 1, with a great challenge: Scrap out of Season! We all buy products for the time of year, and then have to store them away for a whole 50 weeks until they are allowed out again! So why not experiment and use seasonal products unconventionally? Snowflakes could be spring flower centres, halloween spiders on a summer page....Those products will never get used up otherwise! Think outside of the seasonal box! I love to do layouts that require me to think about materials in a different way. As you see above my chipboard snowflakes have been turned into summer flowers. With an abundance of stitching and a cute picture of my daughter I love the way this layout turned out. Why don't you head over to Scrapping Out LOUD! and play along with us.

A Year to Remember

2009-08-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

This great Mini album was made with Creative Cuts and More 8"x8" Mini Album Set. It is a 10 piece die cut set with 2 covers, four dividers, four pages and four 1" rings. I ordered mine in Bazill Bling Cardstock - String of Pearls. I love the color it came it, it's soft and textured, which is awesome. I also used Basic Grey's Urban Couture Collection and Close to my Heart My Acrylix Stamps. This mini album is going to my In Laws, I did and album for the first year of my daughter's life and gave it to them for a Christmas gift almost 2 years ago and just recently they asked if they were ever getting another one? Well of course. It's going to be great for them because we are no longer living in the same country and they do miss thier only grand-daughter. I hope they will enjoy it.

Autumn/Winter Idea Book Open House

2009-08-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

Three times a year my heart gets all fluttery and I get really excited about the release of the latest Close to my Heart Idea Book. Well that time again is upon us, as of September 1st the Autumn/Winter Idea Book is available. With great new paper packs, unbelievable embellishments, awesomes stamp sets and an idea on every page, this is a book that you don't want to miss. I am having my first Open House to showcase the new Idea Book so if you live in the Denver Metro area and want to come down to take a look at the latest and greatest Idea Book, I would love for you to email me. I have prizes, giveaways on the hour and awesome ideas and ways for you to save or even earn free product. This is a great time of year for scrapbookers and I would love to share my passion with you. If you aren't from the Denver Metro Area and would love to get your hands on this hot item, check out Close to my Heart!

Clearly Beautiful Cards

2009-08-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Another clearly great project using Acetate from Creative Cuts & More. These two cards are the 5 x 7 Acetate card, I actualy cut it up to make 2 different cards. I quality of the accetate is awesome and easy to manipulate. I love the fact that the acetate gives the card some great dimension, not just paper layered, but great shadows and floating sentiments. In the back grounds I used Basic Grey Paper and Rubon's for the Bridal Card and the other card features all Close to my Heart Paper and Rubons.

To Carry or to Capture?

2009-08-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

For my next project as Guest Designer for Creative Cuts & More, I decided to take the basic Gable-Tall Box in Acetate and fashion it into a Phot Box. What better way to capture my daughter's boundless energy than by encasing it into this box. I wanted to create something with depth, color and fun techniques. This has eye-catching qualities and some great products helped that along. Of course we have the Gable-Tall Box in Acetate, Basic Grey Paper and Killer Red Tacky Tape from Creative Cuts & More. Rhinestones, Stamps, Inks and Ribbons are all Close to my Heart. I think this photo box is darling and only wish I would have found a way to make it rotate!

Stay in the Line!

2009-08-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

So the next challenge for Whimsical Scraps and Bugs was a color challenge. You can see the colors in this post. I am a firm believer that companies put thier products into 'lines' so it makes you, the scrapbooker's, life easier. When you combine all the elements that you can find in a line from a manufacturer, you will always get a beautiful layout! I know that the trend is to mix and match, and in the beginning, that is all you really could do. But don't make your layouts harder then they have to be by doing unessessary extra work. This layout was made from Making Memories 'Chloe's Closet' and I think it worked out fabulously.

Moments Recorded

2009-08-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

This is the latest from a great challenge site called Moments Recorded. Lots of great challenges. This last challenge was to use a sketch, mask and use mist of some kind. I do not own any kind of mist so I used paint splatter to recreate the mist effect. Messy! I do love my niece in this picture, she is really cute. Next time I think I will buy real mist for a great effect!!!

Back to School...Already?

2009-08-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

How shocked was I to find out that school in the state of Colorado starts in August! The height of summer where I am from. Up in the frozen North we only start school in September, that way we have the warmest days to play outside. So one of my good friends daughters is off the the Honor Academy in Texas, giving a year of her life to God. I hope she has a good time, but, before she went I thought I would make her some great items to help her along. I think they will definately decorate her drab room and add some flair! I made the whole set of items I already had sitting around and SEI's Chocolat line of papers, goregeous!

This was my Eco friendly project...obviously made out of a tin can...the only thing I would differently is put something around the edge to protect her fingers and pens from getting cut, acrylic perhaps? Suggestions?

This is a great pen and notepad, just recovered. Picked up the notepad/pen set for a $1.

Great Dollar store buy, a horrible little picture frame that we recovered with our paper, Cork is painted and stamped and the letters are 'Color Ready' Sticker letters from Close to my Heart and my gel pens, love them sooo much!

This Journal is the best, with front, back and inside covers done with the paper I am sure all her thoughts will be well written. Just for fun I also stamped random inside pages...to give it some color!

A great Michael's buy, this little tool kit just needed some ribbon and a tag and it was done!

Of course the coaster post-it note holder! Recovered and AWESOME. I know that I missed some Must-have items that belong with this kit like pens, but I only had so much time. If you have any suggestions as to what else I could make with this kit, leave a comment I would love to hear from you!

BLOG HOP & August Guest Designer

2009-08-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome everybody, this is my first Blog Hop! Also a great 'Thank You' to Creative Cuts and More and Die Cut Diva for letting me be the August Guest Designer of the month!!! I was really excited to play with all the great products and Die cuts that Creative Cuts and More has to offer, not to mention great ideas on the website. If you just got here and would like to do the blog hop, hop on over to Die Cut Diva which is the start of today's ACETATE blog hop and if you start there, there is a 15% coupon code for anyone who visits Die Cut Diva's blog. Weren't Chrissy's designs awesome? But of course I also have some great ideas for you too...

This is a Snow Pyramid, I modeled it to be like a 'Snow Globe'. Great for and ornament or a cute gift. I decided on the Acetate Pyramid Die Cut. Held the pyramid together with CC&M Killer Red Tacky Tape. I stamped the outside with Staz-on ink and stamps from Close to my Heart and then pumped up the words with Stickles and added Pink Rhinestones. If you look really close you can see an acetate 3-D snowflake inside the pyramid. I think it looks darling and would love to decorate my whole Christmas tree with these ornaments.

This great layout is about my Daughter and her Aunt...on a Swing. I had ordered a bunch of Acetate Flower die cuts and A la Mode Paper by Basic Grey from Creative Cuts and More, the flowers came in three different sizes and that was perfect for this pretty layout. I then used Staz-on ink and Close to my Heart Stamps to fill in the flowers. With a rhinestone in the middle and Acetate letter I had on hand, this layout turned out perfectly.
I love this blog hop with great ideas on it and awesome quaility die cuts. Note there is a giveaway of a brand new Sealife 8x8 album kit on the Die Cut Diva blog and there are FOUR ways to win! Also on the Die Cut Diva site is a sneak peek of the new All Occasions Card Kit, which features great cards in Autumn Colors and sentiments for occasions like Thank You's, Birthdays, Thinking of You's... Thanks for coming to see my blog and if you like what you see and are inspired I love comments and followers!
If you are continuing on with the blog hop your next stop is Jen's Blog with some more great ideas
As the Guest Designer for Creative Cuts and More, I have a bunch of great ideas yet to come this month, so keep checking back for more great ideas.

August Thanks-a-bration!

2009-08-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

If you didn't already know I am also a Close to my Heart Consultant. If you scan my blog you will see that I use alot of thier papers and use thier clear stamps exclusively. I love their products and I know ladies who love thier products too. For the first half of the month of August you have the oppurtunity to earn FREE paper packs from Close to my Heart. There are lots of was to earn your FREE paper pack so drop me a line if you live in the Denver Metro area and I can get you on your way to FREE stuff. Act fast, Thanks-a-bration only lasts until August 17.

Take a challenge!

2009-08-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

What a hard challenge I had this last time from Whimsical Scraps and Bugs Challenge Blog. I found it hard to create with 'Vintage'. Everybody, including myself is living in the now and loves to create using the 'now'. But we are here preserving not only our families memories but also my Grandma's, Grandpa's, nieces, nephew, cousins twice removed and so on. I, every now and then, love to do an older picture to try to update it and make me love it even more. Still lovin' my Cricut though, it is finally paid for (last payment has gone through) and now I can use and abuse it!!! Thank goodness I have WSB Challenge Blog to help me along. Are YOU up for the next challenge, submit your best Cricut made layout/card, see what you can make. The next challenge is a color challenge,

So break out your Cricut and make something wonderful!

Good enough to Eat!

2009-07-27T18:32:00.001-07:00

Just before comeing back from our 'visit' to Calgary, my VISA got stolen! Downer! And we got in too late to use the complimentary water park at our hotel! Sucks! But we are home and I can get back to life as usual. Got a new credit card and my brother and his family are visiting and we will be going to Water World here in Denver...the biggest water park in the USA. Exciting! Thought I would share some up and down moments, including my sweet treat which was originally made for my spotlight from GCD Studios, but then it got picked up by Scrapbook News and Review for the July issue. One of my 'UP' moments. This tasty morsel measures only 3 inches high and is made entirely of scrapbook materials including the inside. (no whip cream filling, sorry) But looks good enough to eat!

Work for you...

2009-07-14T23:47:00.000-07:00

What a great week to get things done. And I am done. Off to 'visit' the family again. So I will be incomunicado these next couple of days. But before I drop off the face of the earth, I wanted to share with you a peek at this great home decor item I made using my Cricut. It was inspired by Whimsical Scraps and Bugs Cricut challenge site of which I am a design team member. The challenge is to create something using an 'ampersand', I chose this great 3-D decor item. You have till this Sunday to submit your creations and possibly win a prize. Play along with us!

Zoo Train

2009-07-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

Look at how cute this 'Zoo Train' turned out. I made it for the challenge on Whimsical Scraps and Bugs. The fun thing about this is that I can add onto the train if I want to make it a room border or even for a pary, it is really cute. I am just in love with how this turned out. I did leave the train cars kinda plain but I did some great distressing techniques on them which makes them more rustic. The design came right out of my head, no pattern or nothing. Now if only I had a boy I would decorate his room in these cute animals.

DT Submission - Pile it On

2009-06-30T23:09:00.001-07:00

These projects were made for a new challenge site called Pile it on! A fantastic idea that takes other challenge sites and incorporates thier challenges in with other challenge blogs. For example; The Animal Train is a challenge from Whimsical Scraps and Bugs, they are challenging us to use animals this time, but Pile it on asks us to also use 4 buttons or more. Get it? New Addition is a layout I made from a sketch I got off 2sketches4U, and Pile it On wants us to also use Purple. Makes more sense. Thank You Card was a sketch I used from Color Chef and Pile it On's challenge was a Non-stamped Setiment...thus the Rub ons! I think they all worked out really well and being told what my layout kinda had to look like really sped up my creative process! I am hoping for the best, I hope I used thier link properly! Hope to hear good news!

The Bizzy Scrapper Online Store

2009-06-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share some pictures of me as a child. We had a 3' tall Raggedy Ann doll, so when I was three, my mom put me in the clothes and I would play around in them. Such cute pictures, and memories. I wanted to share something with everyone out there about this great online store called the Bizzy Scrapper, I just did an order with her and bought a boatload of stuff from her clearance section and it actually WAS clearance pricing. I am encouraging everyone to go to the site and peek around, there are great deals on there as well as some companies that you can't find on other sites. Sheila is super great to deal with and I love finding something new and different at her store. In the next little bit I will post some items I make using products from her store.

My First Independance Day Celebration

2009-06-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

Soon enough it will be a fun evening as everyone is on thier decks and having a party while the sky is lit with hundreds of fireworks. At least that is the vision in my head. This will be my families first July 4th in the States and I am anticipating a HUGE celebration. All of my American friends had better not disappoint! But I am hoping not to disappoint them either as the great little centerpiece above will be given as a gift for the host. This centerpiece is actually my next class I am doing just in time for July 4th. Lots of fun and super cute. If you are interested on coming to the class, just click the link on the right hand side of the page that says 'Scrapaholics Unite' to see what is coming up here in the Denver Metro area or click here for a calendar of upcoming classes and crops. I hope Independance Day is as spectacular as the movies make it out to be! Looking forward to it!

Capture These Sketches Team Search

2009-06-22T22:56:00.000-07:00

This Layout is based on the Sketch provided by Capture these Sketches.

This a sketch I drew to jump my creativity,

This is the layout based on the sketch above and one of my favorite at the moment, it captures one of my daughters looks perfect...I think it worked out great.

All of the above was made for Let's Capture our Memories , for their first Design Team.
I am applying and it seems like a really great sketch challenge site and online store. I know it is going to be good because I recognize a lot of thier followers as being some really talented designers from other design teams. I have not yet been picked for a sketch challenge site and would love to opportunity to design some great layouts and push my scrapbook boundaries.

I hope everyone gets a chance to look at this up and coming site, I got a chance to look around and it already has a hopping Gallery and great Forum. If you think I should get choosen to be on the Capture these Sketches design team, I would love to hear from you, leave a comment and some encouragment! Finger Crossed!

It's all about Class

2009-06-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

This was a class I did last night. Only Jessica showed up last night, but we had a great time playing with all the Close to my Heart papers, stamps and rub-ons. Ended up making a couple of really cool frames, the top 2 are mine but the 'Beachy' one is Jessica's. This is a super easy frame and with all the paper and embellishments on them they really *Pop*! I am hoping to make some more soon and possibly sell them at the county fair. Also if you are interested in taking one of my classes, and are in the Denver Metro area, you can check out my class schedule here. Looking forward to creating some more today.

Latest Addition

2009-06-15T09:32:00.001-07:00

This is my layout for the first challenge from Whimsical Scraps and Bugs - Cricut Challenge Site. The challenge was to use the letter 'S'. I may have over done that but I thought all the intertwined 's' looked kinda like Barrel full of Monkeys! It is a layout about my daughter at the park and I thought all the color and motion made it a fun layout.
And this little ball of fur is our newest addition. We just got him this week and we named him TANK. He is an adorable 8 week old Daschund. Pretty cute. Don't know alot about the breed yet, but he is a vast improvment over the last couple of dogs we have owned. I am sure I will be scrapbooking these pictures soon. If only they could stay that cute forever!

GCD Studios - Spotlight

2009-06-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

So I was actually a Spotlight Gal today for GCD Studios, instead of yesterday. They had posted my new layouts that I sent them but not the ones I had originally submitted. To see the Spotlight and article go here. The above is actually for 2 other projects I had made for GCD Studios, however they are being picked up for publication in Scrapbook News and Review, July Issue, 1 super summer card and a 'Sweet' Project ready to put a cavity in your mouth. I also submitted two original layouts to GCD Studios, one named New Baby and the other is Taking a Stroll .

Spotlight Gal

2009-06-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

This week has been an amazing week, first I get announced as part of a great design team for Whimsical Scraps and Bugs, and then today I am the Spotlight Gal for a major scrapbooking manufacturer, GCD Studios. You can see me on thier blog being showcased. I am very honored and had a lot of fun playing with all of thier products, as you see above I created some additional projects using thier lines of paper. Thank you Heidi Sonboul and GCD Studios for this opportunity. You can see my Spotlight Info here.

Also, occasionally I will be doing give-aways for followers of my site and those of you who leave comments, I would like to encourage you to become a follower and leave a comment if you like something. Thanks for looking,

A new team to be part of!

2009-06-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

Awesome!!!! I have been holding this in for a week...Whimsical Scraps and Bugs have asked me to be part of thier Design Team! If you don't know about whimsical scraps and bugs, it is a Cricut challenge site, they have a challenge at the beginning of the week and you submit at by the end of the week using your Cricut to make the challenge. By the end of the month all your submissions are put in a draw, the more submissions the more chances to win. It's a really cool site, especially if you want some more ideas on how to use your cricut more effectively. The link is http://www.whimsicalscrapsandbugs.blogspot.com/ . The above are 2 baby cards I made using my Cricut, cartridge was the Pooh font, for my friend Tracy, who had her first baby, Peyton! Check back as I will be posting my challenges here as well as on the site, I have lots of great ideas to get the most out of your Cricut!

Exciting things to come!

2009-06-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

Kinda a long post for pictures but I wanted you all to see a cute little clear acrylic album I made using double-sided paper, snipped brads, border stamps and geometric circles. The first picture is the front page and with the album closed you can see all the layers as they are on top of each other making the album even more full than the single pages. I also will have some exciting news to share with you this week, lots of great oppurtunities have presented themselves and fun projects are starting. Hope you will check back to see what is happening in my crazy world.

Saturday again...

2009-06-06T11:22:00.001-07:00

So my husband has decided that we are going to have a Barbeque with all our friends on Saturday night. Not exactly what I want to do after 3 weekends of BBQ's. But he wants to invite his bosses and make this a 'get to know you ' event. He never does end up inviting any of his bosses and the usual bunch is planning on showing up. Now, being a creative person, my house in always in a state of 'flux' (fancy word for not clean), and of course my husband has to work late everynight and most of Saturday. I am so not ready for this, and it was all his idea! MEN! Should I feel flattered that he thinks of me as a superhero, because I need one right now to help me out. Or should I be upset because it was all his idea and he left all the planning, cleaning, cooking up to me! I just wanted to share this little joke with you that sums up my day so far:
Funny? Yes. Sexist? Probably a bit…but still funny.
We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity. When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert ..
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.
Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat .
Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.
(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed ‘ her night off ‘, and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there’s just no pleasing some women.
That will sounds exactly like my day...
I included a great layout of my family from 1980...preserving memories isn't just about the new ones, it's about the old ones too...remembering the story.
Hope you like my Joke! :)

Working Away!

2009-05-31T20:38:00.000-07:00

Busy, working away. I am almost cleaned up from my long trip to Canada. I took about half of my stuff and most of it is now put away, but as my friend said 'the artistic people are always messy'. That would be why I haven't posted a picture of my scrap space yet...it's never clean. I did get some great work done while I was away, the layout pictured above is my creation using the REAL paper packs from BWScrapbooking.com . There is a hidden journaling tag behind the picture...sadly with nothing on it yet. And the little flowers from on the side are made from my Cricut. It's a really cute picture and I wanted to use it. Love it. Hope to put put up another great layout tomorrow.

All in a day's work.

2009-05-30T14:54:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to show you all the cute little things I made today at the crop. I made this cute little Miss You card that I am going to be giving away today to our friends the Ratcliff's who are moving from Denver back to Calgary. This was made using my Cricut.

This adorable little purse is filled with chocolates for the girls...something cute they can play with. I think they will have fun with it! Also made using my Cricut.

And here we have some weird looking bottles for the bathroom that I had just bought. They looked so boring before I felt like I had to jazz them up a bit. All the colors match the fabulous wallpaper I have in my bathroom. Believe me the bathroom needs a bit of something cute! Hope you like them .

Currently...

2009-05-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

Currently all of the designs I have sent out for publication are available to be viewed. Some need a subscription to view them and others are free. The above card was picked up for an article in Scrapbook News and Review on Multiple Stamping. To see the article use the link ---> http://www.scrapbooknewsandreview.com/joomla44/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1332&Itemid=771&ed=148

Just some great ideas to get your mojo going. With just coming back from visiting the family and finishing the Close to my Heart Convention in Calgary, scrapbook ideas are swirling around in my head. But of course my husband has other plans, we have to get some gardening done, CHECK, we have to clean the house (because for 3 weeks alone my hubby was too busy), CHECK, and grocery shop and laundry (cause that didn't get done either). ARGHH!!! Not to mention that I haven't even unpacked my scrapbook supplies from my vehicle. If I am patient everything will fall into place and I will once again be able to create. I am planning on using some mixed media for some new layouts. Keep looking for some great ideas!!!

Vacation VS Visiting

2009-05-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

I just got back from my 3 week long 'visit' with my family in Calgary. It was a great 'visit' and I did more work trying to see everyone I knew that I zonked out at 11pm every night. So just before I was to drive the 1200 miles back to Denver I had to have a 'chat' with my husband about the difference between vacationing and visiting!!! However when I came home there were over 115 emails that hadn't yet been looked at. I was deleting all the kid's store coupon emails when I came across an email from Scrapbooking.com. For those of you who have read my blog before you will know that Scrapbooking.com picked up one of my layouts for thier Father's Day features. Thank you Jami Petersen! I then found the email which Jami wrote saying that she had put my layout on the COVER!!! You can see the cover pictured above, well I thought that was awesome, it is available today to view online and I do believe free to subscribe to. I will continue to send in my work and see if any more publications like them. I am in the mood to create as I now need a vacation from my visiting trip!!

CONTEST

2009-04-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Here is a challenge for you. I have two contest I need to enter and my ideas have apparently flown out the window. The First contest is to make a card using the above White Daisy Accents from Close to my Heart. The Second contest to make a layout using the above Fancy Cuts Botanicals Die Cuts, shown above in a creative way. I am looking for ideas, leave a comment with your idea and if I use the idea and place in the top 5 of each contest I will contact you and send you the above prize. I would love to hear your ideas. Leave a comment!

Calgary Regionals

2009-04-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

This week I was busy trying to get all the swaps done that I had signed myself up for. You see, I am going to Calgary, Canada (my hometown) for the Close to my Heart Regional Convention. I had signed myself up for 2 swaps a Card Swap and a 2 page Layout Swap. Above are the sneak peek of what I made. So I am about to leave for the 2000 mile journey, by car, up to lovely Calgary. Lots of packing left to do! Just thought I would share my labor of Love!

Crunch Time

2009-04-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

I have been steadily working away in the basement to get ready for the CTMH Regionals in Calgary, AB. Got lots of Swaps and contests to get ready for, but before I show you what I have created for that, I wanted to show you the first 2 projects I made for the BWScrapbooking.com using their first REAL paper packs. These two projects were made using the Amber Amore Paper Packs and I think they turned out pretty good. If you want to see more papers click the link on the sidebar to get to the website. These papers originally came digital, so if you are a digi scrapper go and check out the site! I have some great ideas for creating with the Summer Romance Paper Packs for the month of May, so keep your eyes out for some more great ideas.

Easter Brunch

2009-04-11T22:37:00.001-07:00

It is going to be a good Easter. I have already had too much chocolate and my dentist is probably happy to be getting lots of money from me in these upcoming months. But Easter is a great time to be with family and have some good food. I think I am most excited about the Easter egg hunt that Quinn is going to have this year. She is as excited about the Easter Bunny as she was about Santa Claus! It is also neat that we have a bunny living in our yard, or near it anyway, we see him every couple of days, he comes to eat our grass. Of course he MUST be the Easter Bunny.
The layout above is from last Easter when we went to Kelowna, BC with Jim's parents. It was really nice out and we like to have brunch at this great lakeside restaurant called ' The Eldorado'. The best shot glass sized Creme Brulee EVER! I just had fun with this sparkly layout and gave the ghost butterflies a little bling along with the chipboard. Doesn't Quinn look cute in her Easter outfit that Grandma gave her. Of course she does.

GCD Studios

2009-04-07T10:24:00.001-07:00

Well I was looking at GCD Studios Blog, seeing who is on the new design team, (not me), and found my name! Apparently, they liked my submissions, one is pictured above and the other is attached to another post, the layout is called 'Taking a Stroll', using GCD Studio patterned papers. GCD Studios had over 471 submissions for thier Design Team, and they are going to 'Spotlight' 40 ladies over the next three months. I am one of them!!! I will keep you posted as to when I will be spotlighted. To see the Blog and read the post, click here --> http://gcdstudios.blogspot.com/2009/04/spot-light-gals.html
If you like the paper I used, find GCD Studios at your local Michael's Store.

Upcoming Events

2009-04-04T12:24:00.001-07:00

I am ready to stop being a single mom. For those of you who don't know, my lovely husband, Jim, has been on a business trip for 8 out of 10 days. It'll be nice to go out with out having to get a babysitter or strap my kid in her winter coat and drag her around, let Jim 'parent' while I am out! :) For those of you whom I met this weekend and are interested in classes and crops the upcoming schedule looks like this. April 8 - Card Crop at my house, bring your own items for free use of my stamps and idea books OR Use my supplies at $2/card. April 18 - All day Crop, lunch included. For more information on all events, check out the link to my Meetup.com group called 'Scrapaholics Unite'. I will be glad to see more ladies come out and scrap with us.

This Just In...

2009-03-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

Spring Romance and Amber Amore, 2 of the paper packs that I had ordered from BWScrapbooking.com. Yes, these papers also come in digital form but I can touch these ones. They are a really good heavier paper with a semi-gloss finish. Very Beautiful! Can't wait to create with these, I have a really great fall picture I want to use with the Amber Amore collection. And I am not sure yet what I will use the Spring Romance for, but I am sure I will come up with something really special. If you like these papers and want to see some more, click on the link in the side bar.

2009-03-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone at Scrapbook News and Review, I had sent in a card for thier 'Multiple Stamping' call and they decided to pick it up for thier April 2009 issue. It's a cute little Happy Birthday card geared towards boys and it has funky stars and arrows on it! I will post the actual card in May after thier issue is out. I love that I am getting a good response from companies and publications and hopefully this will continue. Seeing as how Jim is out of town for the next 8 days I have lots of time to create some more. I would love to play with a new technique, so if you have one that you think I should try, comment and I would love to try something new!

My Hubby is gone

2009-03-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

So my DH has gone on a business trip for about 11 days. This is day 2 and I have already gotten 6 layouts done. Didn't know that he took up more time than my daughter. It has been good as I have been getting alot of my deadlines done, even ahead of schedule. This lovely picture which I submitted for the first GCD Studios desgin team, you can pick up a paper pack at Michael's, they include die-cuts, glitter letters and lots of great paper. I hope you like the little dragonflies I made out of flowers and rhinestones. Just the right touch. Hopefully I will have some good news for you soon. Wish me luck!

New Feature!!!

2009-03-26T10:02:00.001-07:00

I added a new feature to my blog, you can now subscribe to everythig I have been doing, just add me to your internet start up browser. Also if you are subscribing, I would love to have you become a 'Follower', I know you want to! ;) And if you have a blog, like Stephanie's, or a link to another site, people can get directed from my blog to yours. Hopefully I will see some new names as followers. Thanks for taking an interest and stay tuned for more Scrappy Adventures!

Look at me!

2009-03-26T09:54:00.001-07:00

I have been doing a lot of 'out6side the box' thinking. This layout was an entry for a Guest Designer Contest, based off a sketch. I, of course, love the picture and the paper is all Heidi Swapp. I am currently trying to push myself to try new scrapbooking methods and get a bit more funky, that seems to be what people like. So did I achieve it? Who knows. I thought this layout turned out really great and the paper did a lot of the work for me. Next time I hopefully with push the creative lines even more!

It is a good week!

2009-03-25T13:50:00.001-07:00

What a good week I have been havin, first I got first prize in a consultant contest using Close to my Hearts NEW Fancy Cuts Botanicals, featured here in a cute little Growth Chart. First Prize was $100 in free product, well worth it I would say! Secondly, I have been asked to be part of BWScrapbooking's Creative Team, designig Hybrid Layouts with there 'Real' paper! So look for new layouts using thier designs. If you are into digital scrapbooking check out thier packs at http://www.bwscrapbooking.com/ . As soon as I can I will get up a blinkie so you can link to thier site!

All in all a good week, now let's see what else I can do!

A couple of days of rest

2009-03-19T16:14:00.001-07:00

I haven't been doing much creating lately, been doing all the other things that I neglect to do when I am creating, like laundry, dinner and cleaning the bathrooms (don't want to do that!) As of tonight...after Survivor...I will be back at it, I have 8 calls for this weekend and a crop all day Saturday (hopefully someone comes this time). Lots of time to really get something done. The above layout was for a contest on some obscure scrapbook site, obviously I didn't win! But we will keep plugging away and it seems the magazines think MORE IS MORE...much to my previous statement. I always love comments, so leave one if you have something to say.

Daddy's Best Friend

2009-03-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to report that I have just gotten back an email from Scrapbooking.com magazine who would like to publish my layout, titled 'Daddy's Best Friend'. The above picture is the picture to look for and see what I did with this picture and a small write up in thier May issue! I am so excited, I now realize what the magazines are looking for. Yeah Me!

Adorable

2009-03-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

I was doing my errands today and looked back in the car to see my adorable daughter, sleeping, which made me love her even more because we are at the stage where she goes on and on about everything. Not at all like her mother! :) But there are alot of publishing calls, contest and design teams out there to dazzle with my scrappy style. No takers as of yet....but I am hopeful. I am practicing more dimension with my layouts, so you may see more of these close up shots, along with different tecniques that I don't normally do, so bear with me. Hope you like this blast to the past picture of me, how cute was I...what happened.

Keep Pluggin Away!

2009-03-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

I feel like my creative juices are flowing and I am creating more interesting pieces of art! I also feel like the scrapbooking industry is asking for more, layering and techniques, sometime I think it's too much and the page just looks squished and confusing. I like to keep my pages simple with a common theme in mind and just one or two techniques to round it out. Less is more!

2009-03-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

Trying to get all this free stuff uploaded to blogger is a real pain, but I guess I will have to wait till my darling husband gets home and maybe by tomorrow my blog will look different. I didn't think I was computer illiterate, I mean I use the computer just as much as I used to when I was working. Maybe its Windows Vista...anyway it it painful and I would like to update this blog. My next hump is to get my blog linked to my facebook, but we'll see how that goes. Above is one of my favorite layouts, hope you get some inpiration from it!

2009-03-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

Having a blast creating like crazy. I also have a crop coming up and I am going to love getting alot of my projects done. I want to get some great projects done. However with some great sketches on some other sites and blogs have given me some great inspiration. Time to get my groove on and get back to creating.

Stick a Pin in it!

2009-03-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

I hae been having a lot of fun creating new and fun classes and layouts. The project above is my next class with my online meetup group. I think it is simple and cute...it does appeal to everyone. I hope that more people end up coming to my classes than usual (zero), but I am new to the area and don't know many people. I will keep plugging away and using up my substatial scrapbooking aresenal. Keep checking back for more ideas and designs.

Go.....

2009-03-04T14:58:00.000-08:00

I am ready to start submitting and getting my name out there as a creative scrapbooker and teacher. I feel like I have made some really creative layouts and think it is time to submit to online groups and magazines. I hope they will be recieved well but who know what they are looking for. Now it is time to lock myself in the basement and create!!!

Look for more creations soon!

Time to move

2009-02-28T23:51:00.000-08:00

This was my latest class layout. I think it is cute and reflects a whimsical flair, but with a limited following the class never ran. I want to create more layouts like this. This is all made with Close to my Heart products as I am a CTMH Independent Consultant and I think it is a great range of what those products can create. I hope you like it and I will post more soon.

Ready to Jump in...

2009-02-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

After just moving to Colorado I am in a desperate need to challenge myself so I would like to offer to everyone my services. I love to create and teach scrapbooking and paper crafting and therefore would love to make your next scrapbook or invitations. I will post picture on here of my creations so check back for new ideas and designs!